NATPE 2011: Lifetime/History's Dubuc: Ad Market ‘Recovered'

Panel of cable execs still pressing for CPM parity with broadcast

By Melissa Grego -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/24/2011 11:33:05 AM

Complete Coverage: NATPE 2011

"If last year's any example, it recovered," Lifetime and History chief Nancy Dubuc said of the ad market on a panel of cable executives moderated by Lionsgate Entertainment's TV Group President Kevin Beggs at NATPE Monday.

Dubuc says Lifetime and History parent AETN last year beat its projections "by quite a bit" and that they're still seeing a "robust marketplace." She said she expects a robust upfront and that she is "eager to see exactly how robust," adding that there's "definitely a different mindset than it was 18 months ago."

Panelists USA Network's Jeff Wachtel and Turner's Michael Wright pointed out, however, that cable networks still have a ways to go in achieving pricing parity with broadcast.

Bravo boss Frances Berwick, also a panelist, raised the point that many of cable's biggest recent programming successes, such as AMC's The Walking Dead, worked largely because they were "brand bulls-eyes." AMC has a built not only a tradition of strong original series but also a fall programming slate of scary fare leading up to Walking Dead's Halloween debut, she noted.