Advertisers will get their first look this week at what the broadcast networks have cooked up for the fall TV season during glitzy, star-filled presentations followed by booze-soaked parties.
The shows won’t be the only new things on display, reports The Wall Street Journal. The major networks—ABC, Fox, CBS and NBC—all have fresh faces calling the shots on their programming after a year of massive change in the entertainment industry.
At stake at the “upfronts,” as the annual ritual is known: around $10 billion in ad-spending commitments. In presentations at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, Lincoln Center and other well-known venues, networks will try to make the case to marketers that broadcast television, despite suffering significant viewership declines for several years, is still the best way for brands to reach large audiences.
The ratings picture for broadcasters doesn’t look pretty. Prime-time viewership for three of the big four networks is down, excluding sports, as consumers flock to Netflix Inc. and other streaming services. Ratings erosion has been exacerbated by cable TV cord-cutting.
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| WSJ Graphic |
Despite those challenges, ad spending has been surprisingly resilient. Spending commitments in the spring TV ad season will grow an estimated 2.4% to $21.25 billion this year, according to research firm eMarketer. For 2019 as a whole, networks are expected to collect $67.23 billion from TV ads, a 1.4% decline from 2018, according to estimates from media-buyer Zenith.
A few years ago, there were fears in the industry that TV ad budgets would shrink faster and shift toward tech giants such as Facebook and Google. “The digital guys have not taken a lot of TV dollars, surprisingly so,” said analyst Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson.
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