- A slower-than-typical upfront sales season for TV advertising may be starting to pick up with action from Fox (FOX, FOXA), but the broadcaster is facing a tough road with price pressures.
- The deals it's made so far have CPM rates that are flat from last year, or down by as much as 2%, sources tell Variety.
- Fox is usually at the vanguard of done deals with upfronts, as it has fewer prime-time hours to sell -- but it's an open question whether a strategy of offering reasonable rates to drive volume will be picked up by its rivals.
- Last year, Fox's CPM rates were up between 2.5% and 3.5%, and the prior year hikes were 5%-7%, so the trend suggests that the overall amount set aside for TV commercials may be less than last year. Advertisers are also acting more methodically as trends like highly targeted and programmatic advertising start to take root.