Embracing Change, TV Networks Find Stronger Demand for Ads

EMBRACING CHANGE, TV NETWORKS FIND STRONGER DEMAND FOR ADS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Stuart Elliott]
The willingness of the big broadcast television networks to embrace change -- by making it easier to watch shows online and by adopting new types of ratings -- is contributing to stronger demand for commercial time ahead of the fall season. The intensifying demand is enabling the broadcasters to raise rates for spots scheduled to appear during prime-time shows for the 2007-8 season. The deals being made this week in what is known as the upfront market, because the selling takes place before the season starts, include advertising on network Web sites where fans of programs like “Desperate Housewives” and “Jericho” can watch episodes they missed on TV. “Digital assets are definitely a factor” in the robust demand, said Joe Mandese, editor at MediaPost in New York, an online and print trade publication. “Packaging the online properties as part of upfront buys is attractive to a lot of advertisers who see that as a way into the new media,” which they may be reluctant to try on their own, he added.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/20/business/media/20adco.html
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