• TV Week, Wednesday, April 2, 2008 11:30 AM

Some cable nets are thinking that increased viewership after the writers' strikes will help broadcasters score big in the upfront. But many media buyers point out that the scatter market has cooled off and if some ad dollars move to cable, economic concerns may rein in overall spending. Cable networks are spending big in the upfront season as broadcasters scale back -- and also putting unprecedented investments into original programming.

At a recent Hallmark event, Bill Abbott, executive vice president for ad sales at the channel, projected that the cable market will pull double-digit CPM increases while Jack Wakshlag, chief research officer at Turner Broadcasting, says the strike meant a decline in network viewership among viewers 18 to 49 of 15% season-to-date.

So far, ad-supported cable networks have picked up nearly all of that lost audience, pushing 35 channels to double-digit increases. Still, how much moves is the big question: "A little money could flow over to cable," says Andy Donchin, director of national broadcast at media buyer Carat. "Broadcast still has unparalleled reach potential, but that they keep losing share and that the price keeps going up concerns me greatly." But for Jason Kanefsky, senior vice president for national broadcast at MPG, expectations of higher spending -- and pricing -- on cable may be overblown. "There's no money there," he says.

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