NBCU Upfront Nearly Done, Claims ‘High-Single Digit’ Price Hikes
Despite weakness in the current scatter market, NBCUniversal is pretty much finished with its upfront ad-market deals, with total volume near that of a year ago, according to Jeff Shell, chief executive officer of NBCUniversal. “So we’re pretty much done, just a smattering of things still finishing up,” said Shell, speaking at the Credit Suisse media conference. “High single digits [percentage increase] was our pricing … we had expected kind of mid-single digits coming into the upfront. So I’m thrilled with that.”
Warner Bros. Discovery’s Steinlauf Mum On Upfront Deals
As other TV networks were revealing details on upfront deal-making and pricing, Chief U.S. Advertising Sales Officer of Warner Bros. Discovery Jon Steinlauf was much more muted at an investor conference on Wednesday. “We are not going to talk about the market,” said Steinlauf, speaking at the Credit Suisse Communications conference. “This is not the time for that.” But he added some insight. “We are active; we are negotiating; we are talking to everybody; we are closing deals; we are being patient.”
Nexstar Learns To Live Without Auto
Nexstar executives told the Credit Suisse virtual conference on Wednesday that it has yet to see even modest recovery from the auto sector, though it’s still finding other categories to plug the hole. The company also spoke to its M&A ambitions, the prospect of selling its Food Network stake and the mindset it’s bringing to its upcoming MVPD and network affiliate negotiations.
Shell Says TV Is All One Business For NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell told a Credit Suisse conference Tuesday that he doesn’t see — or manage — the company’s Peacock streaming service as a separate business. “The goal is to have our TV business grow sooner and more rapidly despite linear declines — and we think we’re well on the way,” he said.
