Imagining a new way to do the upfront

The way people watch television has undergone some major changes over the past few years. Now so is the way television advertising is sold.

Discovery Communications has decided to forego its traditional upfront presentation this spring, bypassing the big party in favor of small meetings with agencies and advertisers across the country.

A couple channels, including Cartoon Network, have tried this approach in the past, but Discovery is the biggest to abandon the traditional route.

Media buyers point out the move was made largely due to financial concerns. It’s cheaper to do a small get together than put on a huge dog-and-pony show in New York City.

But buyers also say they welcome the move to the smaller gatherings.

“The larger-scale network upfronts have their purpose, and the pageantry is nice,” says David Campanelli, senior vice president and director of national broadcast at Horizon Media.

“But in today’s world, where more and more information is being used to inform our TV buys, there really is a necessity to have more intimate agency meetings to discuss the individual client-by-client needs that we have. That type of dialogue is not possible in a larger setting.”

The upfront has been around for decades. The cable networks schedule presentations running from late February and early March through mid-May, when broadcast also holds its upfront.

At their presentations, they lay out their plans for the following year, trying to convince buyers those shows are worthy of ad commitments. In late May or early June, buyers begin committing their clients’ money to the new shows.

The upfront accounts for just under half of total cable spending each year.

In the past, some cable groups, such as Scripps, have supplemented their NYC upfront presentation with road shows, traveling to a handful of other big media cities to make their pitch.

Discovery’s decision comes after a disappointing upfront for cable in 2014.

Following years of gangbusters gains, cable saw a 6 percent decline in upfront spending, falling to $9.6 billion, according to the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau.

Combine that with recent steep declines in cable viewership, and cable groups such as Discovery may feel they need to make a better, more personalized argument for investment in their programming.

Discovery plans to meet with individual agencies, giving the more opportunity for one-on-one discussion of new shows and lineups.

Still, some smaller agencies are concerned about being left out of the conversation.

“It may relegate smaller agencies and clients to a secondary position, but can be more personal if done right,” says one buyer.

She expects to see more of this type of upfront presentation in the future.

“My guess is that more networks will move to this once they are sure it will not have a negative impact on bottom line,” she says.

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