For the past several years, I have attended the upfront advertising events in New York expecting to see the ad sales community focus on digital platforms. But year after year, it’s still television that is emphasized by the sales community. That continued last week as, for all the talk of digital platforms and social media applications, it was traditional, old-school television that dominated networks’ presentations.
This year, there was a split. Broadcasters pitched prime-time entertainment programming that appeared to be more platform agnostic, largely due to the growing number of people who aren’t watching scripted series live. The sports presentations mainly focused on TV — still the best place to attract the biggest audiences. Sports appeared to be where TV remains king and old ad sales rules apply.
“The reason the sports presentations are as TV-heavy as they are is because they reflect where the money actually comes from rather than reflecting perception [that more money is going to digital],” said one network source who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Not surprisingly, the NFL took center stage during the upfront week’s sports presentations; the NFL always creates a stir during this sales period. It is TV’s most popular programming, and advertisers want to be associated with it.
This year, however, there’s more high-priced NFL product than ever, thanks to CBS touting its new Thursday night package. Ad buyers said CBS’s opening pitch puts ad rates for its Thursday night games — which will be simulcast on NFL Network — on par with NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.” At the CBS upfront presentation, Chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves said the eight-game NFL schedule will cause more ad dollars to flow into the network’s coffers.
The NFL was a big part of all the network upfronts, with each network talking about why its schedule is the strongest. At NBC’s upfront, NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus highlighted expanded flex scheduling that allows “Sunday Night Football” to switch weaker games with stronger ones during the season — something none of the NFL’s other network partners can do.
Fox Sports President Eric Shanks addressed the same point during his five-minute presentation the next day that was heavy on NFL talk.
“No matter what you may have heard, we will never lose our best game in any given week to flex scheduling,” he said.
I asked industry executives to identify some of the main themes coming out of this year’s upfront.
> Big events matter
Financial analyst Rich Greenfield emailed that he is noticing that TV networks are “trying to eventize broadcast TV to drive live tune-in.”
Shanks told advertisers that 97 percent of Fox Sports viewers watch live. At ESPN, that figure is at 96 percent, according to Eric Johnson, executive vice president of global multimedia sales.
That’s where big sports events come in. The World Cup was a huge part of ESPN’s presentation, coming with a chorus line of Brazilian dancers. With the next Super Bowl and the recent Olympics, NBC touted its position as the rights holder of the biggest sports events. And Shanks boasted of “at least 12 major championships [that] will be decided on Fox and Fox Sports 1.”
> Measurement matters
Another reason why networks’ upfront presentations are so TV-heavy is because it’s too difficult to measure non-TV viewing today. When I asked Sean Bratches, ESPN’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, what theme he saw emerging from the upfront presentations, he pointed to the need to measure audiences beyond traditional TV ratings.
At its upfront, ESPN pushed its ability to reach people via broadband and mobile applications as much as television. “It’s not just about reaching 100,000 people,” Bratches said. “It’s about reaching 60 million people or 100 million people.”
> Social matters
Networks are not selling social media packages as stand-alone offerings. Instead, they are integrating them into packages. That’s because ad buyers expect social media applications to be part of every purchase they make. When asked to identify an upfront trend, Optimum Sports’ Jeremy Carey pointed to social as an important ad sales component that helps to spur consumer conversation and allow brands to engage with fans.
John Ourand can be reached at jourand@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ourand_SBJ.
