• by John Gaffney , July 14, 2003

More Upfront Noises: TV Week had a great piece today on potential changes suggested by the ad agency side to the upfront process. Some include logistical nightmares such as instituting an 8 pm negotiating deadline to do away with the old 3 am power plays. It's starting to feel to me like the upfront process could actually see some reforms next year, which is not something I would have said three months ago. And the reason is that the brand dissatisfaction voiced over the past month or so has now been joined by a chorus of advertising executives. No one's afraid to say they think the upfront process is broken anymore. I also believe that the TV networks know enough about the concept of marketing partnerships to make some changes. These will not be wholesale changes. They still have mass audiences; brands still need mass audiences. But there will be changes nonetheless. And making the process better for brands and agencies is a good place to start. Now we'll start to see an upfront negotiation about the process of the upfront.

Summer Magazines: Personally I don't think the June PIB report, which showed a slight tumble in ad pages (3.2%, to 18,833.7) versus the year-ago period, means a whole lot. Magazines and radio get a lot of attention from monthly reports and they are bound to be somewhat cyclical. Word on the street says that magazines seem to be getting a lift from the automotive, entertainment and packaged goods categories. If those start to flag for a few months in a row, it's potential trouble. I still see magazines on track for double digit growth this year.

At The Buzzer: It doesn't really matter to me what the Yahoo! purchase of Overture means to both companies. The big story is that this deal could happen in an industry that was written off for dead not too long ago.