NBCU, Paramount, Fox Execs Say Upfront Sales Nearly Done With Solid Gains But Broader Ad Outlook Mixed
deadline.comThree leading media execs said upfront sales will wrap up shortly with Paramount and NBCUniversal seeing increases in the high single digits, according to CEOs Bob Bakish and Jeff Shell.Fox Corp.
CFO Steve Tomsic was on board with a 9%-to-12% range presented by analyst Doug Mitchelson at a CSFB investor conference Tuesday, noting the strength of the company’s news and sports.
The execs spoke in back-to-back to Q&As.Shell is “thrilled” with the increase since NBCU had expected a lower “mid-single-digit” boost coming in.
Volume is comparable with last year. He said declines in “viewership and distribution due to cord cutting and everything else was offset by pricing at Peacock.” The addition of the streaming service has made NBCU the biggest advertiser at the upfront, he said, and sales are pretty much complete with only a “smattering” left.Paramount is about “80% to 90%” done – “so almost there but not totally,” said Bakish, citing price increase in the “high singles” for both broadcast and cable, and digital volume up “significantly.” He thinks that’s partly from competitors “doing some things that are probably too aggressive on the linear pricing side — because we have seen agencies add digital volume as the upfronts go on.” He didn’t elaborate on who did what.Tomsic noted “really, really strong levels of commitment, which are north of where we were at this time last year.
Read more on deadline.com