• Ad Age, Tuesday, March 20, 2007 11 AM

With the final ad units of the first quarter selling off, attention is shifting to the second-quarter scatter market, a key indicator of what the upfront will hold. Some trends are already emerging: Early morning and evening news is starting to tighten, as well as top daytime properties in syndication. And a tight scatter market often means a stronger hand for the nets as they begin negotiations.

Jackie Kulesza, vice president-director of Starcom Worldwide, says the second quarter is expected to be much like the first. "It's every flavor of client, it's money from a variety of sources, people who had upfront money, new product launches, people simply spending more money."

Meanwhile, media buyers are reporting problems getting pods in network news broadcasts and early-morning programming. Morning shows like NBC's "Today" -- adding a fourth hour to its broadcast -- usually sell faster because they are popular with advertisers and a cheaper alternative to prime time.

Read the whole story at Ad Age »