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Network Upfront Presentations

Upfronts are the annual spring negotiations where advertisers commit billions in future TV ad inventory.

The Upfront ritual began in 1962 when ABC presented its upcoming slate to Madison Avenue; it still handles roughly half of U.S. national TV spend. An Adweek round-up of 2024 market shifts says ad-supported tiers on Prime Video, Disney+, and Netflix widened inventory and tempered CPMs.

Deals trade cash for audience guarantees: Advertisers lock CPMs, and networks guarantee GRPs under Nielsen C3/C7 or emerging cross-platform currencies, issuing make-goods if ratings miss.

Supply shocks move pricing: Strike-shortened scripted slates have diverted spend to live sports, while new CTV inventory has widened options and pressured linear CPMs.

Industry executives emphasise that high-reach live sports and tent-pole events - typically secured through Upfront buys - remain “extraordinary platforms” for marketers, sustaining demand for linear packages even amid CTV growth.

Networks can deploy audience demand insights - such as heat maps from TV Demand - to defend rates and evidence incremental reach across platforms.

Scatter and "second fronts" fragment the buying calendar, yet Upfront commitments still convert future audiences into guaranteed cash months before any ads air.

Why It Matters:

Locked-in commitments stabilise cash flow and set CPM benchmarks months ahead of delivery. Sellers can use TV Demand to showcase audience momentum and defend pricing.

Adapt to the streaming era

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Assess the performance of a genre and comp titles in different markets to see if demand is growing. Understand if a genre is consistently performing or if it shows signs of saturation.

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Identify content pairings that drive cross-viewership between flagship shows and niche programming. Determine which linear properties should be bundled with digital offerings.

What are the best shows to acquire for my linear network?

Understand different audience preferences by market, and which genres and markets present an opportunity for content development or acquisition. Understand how local content is performing globally and how competitive each platform’s content slate is.

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Access the largest audience behaviour data set combined with demographic and sentiment insights - all in one place. Our global measurement standard gives you a holistic view of what’s trending in which markets, across all platforms - broadcast, pay TV or OTT.

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