Upfront Market Nears Finish With 75-80% Committed as Sports Drives Major Sellers
Updated
Updated · Digiday · Jul 22
Upfront Market Nears Finish With 75-80% Committed as Sports Drives Major Sellers
1 articles · Updated · Digiday · Jul 22
Summary
75-80% of upfront spending has already been committed to major media and streaming sellers, with agencies saying negotiations are largely finished except for smaller cable and long-tail partners.
Total upfront dollars were slightly down again, but sellers with strong sports, digital inventory and ad-tech packages — including NBCUniversal and Amazon — still captured volume gains.
Sports drove the market and also slowed it: Disney sought about $10 million for 30-second Super Bowl ads before deals landed around $7.75 million to $8 million, while Netflix faced similar friction selling Women’s World Cup inventory.
Stable pricing across streaming reflected abundant inventory and softer marketer budgets, pushing sellers to use 'match spending' and flexible terms to steer buyers into broader entertainment and streaming packages.
Corporate uncertainty around assets at Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox, Roku and Comcast lingered in the background, but buyers said dealmaking still came down to content strength and packaging.