CAB: Cable Upfront Record $9.3B

Just how big was the upfront for cable? Cable ad dollars jumped 16% to a record $9.3 billion according to a new tabulation by the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau.

The cable upfront also topped the broadcast upfront for the first time, the CAB said.

Sean Cunningham, president and CEO of the CAB said that the fact that cable spending is up 38% in the past two upfronts “is a market-wide testimonial to the product selling power of cable’s video brands.”

He added that “it’s clear that cable brands are the lead media choice in the marketer’s quest for sales growth, new customers and deeper connections to consumers.”

During the upfront, cable networks reported price growth of 7% to 16% on a cost-per-thousand viewers basis. Broadcast networks attracted about $9.1 billion in upfront spending with price increases ranging from 9% to 15%.

With second-quarter earnings calls starting this week, it will be interesting to see which company’s with cable networks divisions report that they beat the industry’s 16% average (maybe NBCU?) and which don’t (perhaps Viacom?).