Upfront Spending To Drop Slightly

Jack Myers predicts that advertisers will spend less in the coming upfront market with ABC the biggest loser.

In his latest release, Myers, publisher of Jack Myers Report, says network upfront spending will amount to $6.7 billion this year, down from $6.9 billion last year. ABC will get $1.4 billion, down from $1.7 billion - a 16% drop. Myers says NBC will also drop from $1.9 to $1.8 billion - a 7% loss.

At the same time, Myers predicts that CBS will go from $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion - a 14% gain. Fox will also drop 14% but the WB and UPN will grow, with UPN's revenue jumping 70% from $.1 billion to $.2 billion.

Myers also projects cable gains, with cable spending jumping 5% while broadcast declines 3.3%.

"The primary beneficiaries will be targeted cable networks such as Comedy Central, FX and Lifetime as agencies reward them for positive ratings performance," Myers says. He also says Turner, ESPN and Discovery will grow. Cable spending is expected to grow to $4.2 billion from $4 billion.

Total upfront spending on broadcast and cable will drop very slightly, from $10.925 billion to $10.9 billion.

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