Jon Lafayette

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USA Takes Swing in Upfront Big Leagues

USA Network, the top-rated cable network, closed out upfront week Thursday with a presentation to ad buyers that showed it belonged in the big leagues. It attracted an overflow house of media buyers who waited in a long line under a hot sun (welcome after a rainy week) to get in, and used social media to draw cheering fans as the stars of its shows walked a red carpet outside Lincoln... More

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Media Buyers Smile at Glitch-Free Turner Upfront

This year, the projectors and other electronics at Turner Broadcasting’s upfront all worked. Turner made the most of last year’s failure, opening up with a film showing executives still suffering from “post-upfront traumatic stress disorder” getting tips from its show’s stars on what to do if there were issues again this year. In the tape, Conan... More

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ABC Says 'Our Spots Sell Better Than Yours'

Geri Wang, president of ad sales at ABC, told media buyers that its new research shows that her network’s shows attract more of marketers’ best customers. While much of upfront week is about programming, media buyers and their clients are also eager for reassurance that the millions they’re spending on commercials will increase their own sales. And at a time when... More

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TV Business Issues Also Aired at Upfronts

Amid the programming on display at Monday’s upfronts, there was also some discussion of the business of television at the presentations put on by Fox and NBC. The word of the day was fluidity, a term both Fox and NBC used to describe their desire to sell ads to sponsors on both the TV and digital versions of their programming. At Fox, ad sales chef Toby Byrne pointed out that in a... More

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Upfront Forecasts See Modest Growth

A few days before the broadcast networks begin their upfront presentation, analysts are predicting a more modest market for 2012-13 than the robust one the networks rang up a year ago. Spencer Wang of Credit Suisse estimates that broadcast upfront dollars will rise 2% to $9.3 billion and cable will see a 4% rise to $9.7 billion. Wang says three factors lead him to this conclusion. He says... More