• by John Gaffney , March 3, 2003

Maybe the term “upfront” doesn’t apply only to TV ad sales. Yesterday Yahoo! announced it had completed its first multi-program upfront deal or advance long-term commitment with a cable advertiser. The advertiser is USA Networks, which has recently attracted ad dollars as well as viewer attention for producing and delivering solid original programming.

Monetary terms of the deal were not disclosed. USA said it was its largest commitment it ever to an Internet media company. The network scored with ratings victories with series and mini-series such as “Monk,” The Dead Zone,” and “Taken” last season. It recently booked multiple page trade promotions for new shows such as a Rudy Giuliani biopic, the mini-series Helen of Troy and original series Nashville Star.

Ads will appear on Yahoo movie, TV, mail, news and sports sites, as well as in five different campaigns on Yahoo's front page. While the TV industry has made a yearly practice of tying to take as much money off the table in a pre-season “upfront” sales process, this is the first time an Internet publisher has claimed victory in a similar process.

According to a Yahoo! spokesperson, the upfront concept has been a part of selected sales pitches, especially for entertainment clients and autos. The upfront allows advertisers to lock in the places their brand or product will be seen in regularly. The current Yahoo sales organization – which is structured vertically across industries – has been leaning more on the upfront pitch to free money that might be uncommitted in a tight economy.

The spokesperson did not know whether more TV media companies will make commitments to Yahoo or other portal sites.