Is Cable Finally Getting Parity With Broadcast?

Broadcast television network executives admitted during upfronts that they weren’t happy with their product, either. Cable networks have been waiting for this moment.

Mel Berning came out swinging at the A+E Networks upfront, scolding broadcasters for charging a "failure tax" and telling ad buyers that the smart money was with his networks' hits. David Levy, head of ad sales for Turner, has been pushing for parity with broadcast for years, and now, he told Adweek, "We’re getting there." "Sports, kids and news have been at parity for five, six years," Levy said. "For entertainment, there just hasn't been enough quality programming, but we’ve really stepped things up in the last four or five years." Many across the negotiating table agree. "You can get three spots on cable for the cost of one on broadcast," said a buyer for an over-the-counter medicine brand (every buyer who spoke to Adweek for this story asked to be quoted anonymously). So why buy broadcast at all? "We don't."