ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and CW sell nearly $9.2 billion in 'upfront' advertising

Despite lower prime-time ratings and a weak economy, the broadcast networks dodged a bullet as they wrapped up their advance advertising sales for the coming season Monday. When final sales are tabulated, the five major broadcasters -- ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and CW -- should bring in nearly $9.2 billion in prime-time business, about the same total as last year. But the networks had to sell more inventory to maintain that level. It could have been worse. The networks just closed the books on the weakest season in memory. There were no break-out hits, and the writers strike forced the networks to air reruns, chasing viewers away. The 100-day strike also disrupted program development, so advertisers opened their purse strings even though in many cases they haven't yet seen the new shows. Only last month, some Wall Street analysts predicted that the so-called upfront market -- when TV networks sell the bulk of their commercial time -- could be off as much as 14% versus 2007. The pessimism was prompted by slumping ratings, lower ad sales at TV stations and growing audiences for cable channels, which are luring away ad dollars.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-upfront10-2008jun10,0,2173217.story
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