Overall, broadcast networks are holding firm to the terms of their upfront ad deals and are unwilling to offer price concessions. This comes as advertisers face a deadline for reaffirming the
second-quarter TV ad time they committed to during the upfront.
Many in the industry worried that advertisers might pull back some of the money they previously earmarked for the period.
Buyers and some network executives suggest networks will be flexible in setting deadlines for final orders to accommodate economic concerns.
But networks actually have quite a bit of
leverage. Pricing for scatter ad inventory, which is purchased closer to air time, is the same or higher than upfront pricing at CBS, Fox and ABC. If advertisers are thinking they might drop their
network TV orders and get better prices in the scatter market, chances are they won't.
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