NBC Sees Small Overall Gain In Upfront Sales, But Gets Big Hike In NFL Ad Rates

NBC has "finished its sales of commercial time" in the upfront market and the net "sold about" $1.8B, according to Stuart Elliott of the N.Y. TIMES. This compares to an estimate of $1.7B "in the upfront market last spring" (NYTIMES.com, 6/13). In N.Y., Claire Atkinson notes NBC, thanks to NFL games, "was able to hike football ad rates" by 9%. Media buyers said that the NFL "was in high demand among advertisers." NBC's gains were "more modest for the rest of its lineup." Ad execs said that the net "took in just under" $1.8B, with ad rates up 6% to 7%. Miller Tabak & Co. analyst David Joyce "estimated the final tally" for all nets at $9.57B, a 4% uptick that "reflects rate increases even as the networks sold less ad inventory." One network sales exec said, "Autos spent more this year, as did retail, but pharma spent less. The (movie) studios also told us they'd be down this year because there are no big tentpoles" (N.Y. POST, 6/14).