Annually, agencies and advertisers alike, have pivotal conversations with broadcast (and cable) networks pricing for the upcoming year.
This timeframe is simply called “the upfront” in the advertising business. The upfront is the season of purchasing inventory for the forthcoming year. It has been the practice over the years that advanced buying provides more cost savings. Networks typically sell up to 75 percent of their available inventory during this period. In New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, in particular, networks showcase to ad agencies their upcoming programming to gauge buyer interest at a viewing party. The more interested the buyers are of the programming, the better change for higher pricing for the program.
This upfront historically yields many long hours of discussion that take place between buyers (agencies and advertisers) and the sellers (networks). This is when price, daypart, and programming are discussed at length.
Buyers are typically vocal about whether the programming viewed will make it past a few episodes aired. After all, there is a direct relationship between viewers watching these programs and what price a buyer should pay for said programming. Just think, “Empire.” This show aired the back half of the season for FOX and yet its ratings (% of viewers) continued to grow with each episode. This means, if you want in on a show like this in 2016, expect to pay premium pricing.
