• New York Post, Thursday, November 6, 2008 9:30 AM

Demand seems to be plummeting for television ad time sold close to the actual air date. TV ad execs report that their phones are eerily quiet during a normally a busy time of the year.

"The [scatter] marketplace is dead. There is no new business or additional ad categories coming in," says one cable sales exec. The economic downturn has clobbered major ad categories, including automotive, financial services, retail and real estate.

In contrast, last year's scatter market was so hot that prices were 30% more than those set during the "upfront" market.

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