• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, July 15, 2016

The price of national TV inventory continued a seasonal decline in June, just a the major networks and ad agencies were beginning to negotiate deals for the 2016-17 television season. This year’s upfront may be turning out stronger than many anticipated, but according to the RealCost Index, a collaboration of MediaPost and SQAD, the average cost of national TV advertising declined to an index of 114 in May, down 30 points from 144 in June.

However, on a year-over-year basis, June’s national TV inventory value tightened considerable over June 2015’s 93 index.

Much of June’s cost erosion came from broadcast networks, which saw their index value decline from 183 in May to 130 in June.

Cable network costs, meanwhile, fell to a 138 in June from a 155 in May.