• Broadcasting & Cable, Monday, April 28, 2008 10:30 AM

With the broadcast networks still suffering from the after-effects of the writers' strike, cable programmers are looking to take advantage. Broadcast ratings were down by double-digits even before the strike, helping cable to collectively pull more than one-half of the total prime-time audience, with many posting their best numbers ever this quarter. And big players in the category are feeling bullish.

Turner, which operates TNBT, TBS and truTV is again championing the "one TV world" concept under which broadcast and cable networks should be treated an equal terms when it comes to CPMs. Meanwhile, the networks that have presented in this year's upfront have so far focused more on programming than the multiplatform mania of 2007. Says Turner Broadcasting Sales/Turner Sports chief David Levy. "I'm not saying not to buy broadcast television -- in fact, it should be part of the mix. It's just that an over-reliance on broadcast could be costly."

Notes Mel Berning, ad sales executive for A&E, "the biggest discussion point we have with most buyers is really around the changing value propositions between broadcast and cable."

Read the whole story at Broadcasting & Cable »