• by David Goetzl , July 11, 2008

The upfront may have shown high demand, but prime-time prices were significantly lower in the second quarter, according to a new analysis. Those results were noteworthy, considering scatter prices were believed to be considerably up over 2007 upfront costs back in the early spring -- though that market has slowed.

Overall, average network prime-time unit costs for the April-June period fell 11.1% to $139,728, with all Big Four networks experiencing a decline.

"American Idol"-fueled Fox, and ABC saw pricing dips on the lower end, while NBC and CBS saw double-digit drops, according to the research from independent media agency TargetCast tcm.

According to the analysis, CBS average pricing fell 18% year-over-year to $118,294, followed by NBC, which declined 15.1% to $103,693. ABC saw a 5.1% drop to $142,194, while Fox declined the least (by 2.7%) and had the highest unit costs at $254,852. (While "American Idol" no doubt propelled Fox, "24" did not air due to the strike.)

The "rankings" of highest-lowest-priced networks on average unit costs were the same as a year ago.

The research is derived from NetCosts data. The service, run by SQAD, gets reports on spending from some 390 advertisers and agencies. (SQAD has said NetCosts tracks 40% of national TV ad expenditures.)

TargetCast executive Gary Carr said the writers' strike may have had an impact in the declines, since though the strike ended, new episodes of hit shows did not return until the latter part of the April-May period. Some of the series saw ratings declines, even with the fresh episodes.