The networks' upfront presentations to advertisers are over -- now the haggling begins.
Fox was the first of the Big Five English-language broadcasters last year to wrap up its business, and is likely to be first again. That means its negotiations will set the pricing levels for the other networks.
Despite declining ratings overall, largely due to continued fragmentation of audiences because of so many cable networks, the broadcast networks are expected to do brisk business, and negotiations are likely to be completed no later than mid-June.
The networks have not publicly said where they plan to open negotiations, but network sources have told TheWrap that Fox, CBS and ABC will be looking for primetime price increases of at least 15 percent. Media agencies, which refused to pay more than 9 percent last year than they had the year before, believe that Fox and CBS could average 12-13 percent increases for primetime inventory this time, agency insiders told TheWrap.
NBC's efforts to recover from Jay Leno's debacled move to 10 p.m., meanwhile, have resonated with buyers. While NBC is not expected to get the same rate hikes as Fox, CBS or ABC, it will still take in a good chunk of upfront dollars.
"The first few deals do set the tone for the market," one executive for a major media agency told TheWrap. "And there is pressure on one of the higher-rated networks to do at least a few deals before the lower-rated networks do to prevent the latter from establishing a lower price ceiling."
Here's a look at each of the networks:
FOX
Fox took in $1.9 billion in primetime ad dollars from last year's upfronts. It made slightly less than ABC or CBS last year because it has an hour less programming per night, but still made more than fourth-place NBC.
Fox is usually the first to do upfront deals because it reaches a sizable 18-34-year-old demo, is tops in 18-49 (though CBS is most-watched overall) and has the highest-rated show on television in "American Idol."
But last year it surprised many by being the first network to wrap up all of its business two weeks after the official upfront programming presentations to media agencies and advertisers.
Why will Fox likely do it again this year? In addition to its younger, harder-to-reach male demo, and "Idol," it will premiere another reality show this fall, Simon Cowell’s "X Factor," for which advertiser demand is expected to trump commercial availability.
Though Fox plans to price commercial time for "X Factor" close to "Idol" levels, buzz for the show has many advertisers telling their media buying agencies to make sure to get them into the show.
While Fox is expected to price commercial time in "X Factor" aggressively, one industry observer told TheWrap, “I don’t ever recall a show like 'X Factor' which was this highly anticipated going into an upfront.
