• by Wayne Friedman , August 1, 2006

In the midst of a lackluster cable upfront, Rainbow Media's WE tv--the women's entertainment network--announced a number of major sponsors, new and old, for original programs in the third quarter.

Bank of America is a new, exclusive advertiser for "Platinum Weddings," a weekly half-hour show, about one couple's ultimate wedding fantasy. In a similar wedding vein, resort company Sandals has come onboard as a new advertiser for "Bride vs. Bride," a competition series where family fights against family in wedding-themed challenges.

In addition to an undisclosed amount of media inventory for both advertisers, Bank of America and Sandals will received tagged tune-in ads and billboards. WE tv did not disclose financial specifics of the deal.

Liberty Mutual and Hewlett-Packard have also signed on for "She House Cinema," in which two designers compete to furnish a home. The two advertisers join Payless Shoe and Bissell Homecare for the 4-year-old series. All four advertisers will receive tagged tune-ins, sweepstakes spots, and billboards.

Liberty Mutual will have a vignette in the show focusing on family safety. Hewlett-Packard will have a 50-inch plasma TV and its HP digital entertainment system in product placements. Bissell will have one of its vacuum models displayed. These deals were made during the upfront process.

Media executives say Rainbow Media Holdings is in the same predicament as most cable networks during the upfront. All struggle to get any increases for the cost per thousand viewers (CPMs). Although many ad budgets are registered, much cable network inventory is still in negotiation, and may stay in this mode for another several weeks.

Mid-level cable networks, such as WE, will be hard-pressed to get even 1 percent to 2 percent price decreases from advertisers versus that of 2005, according to media-buying executives. Some networks are said to be offering even steeper price discounts--3 percent to 4 percent--than a year ago.

It's now projected that the cable upfront could be down 2 percent to 5 percent in overall dollars, to a range of $5.9 billion to $6.1 billion.