By Brian Steinberg
2012/2013 Upfront: Transparency and TV Expenditure
Advertisers continue to extort money from what was once Madison Avenue's most beloved medium: prime-time TV.
Advertising commitments for the next cycle of primetime broadcast TV fell 3.5% in this year's "upfront" market to $9.34 billion, according to Media Dynamics Inc., while cable primetime commitments fell 4.8% to $9.065 billion. The declining dollars illustrate how the media industry is changing as more people turn to streaming video and other ways to access their favorite shows, movies, news and sporting events.
Meanwhile, ad commitments to streaming video hubs increased a remarkable 35.3%, from $8.2 billion in the previous market to $11.1 billion. The amount committed to streaming video for the next TV season is greater than that committed to primetime broadcast or primetime cable — an industry first.
