30 The five English-language U.S. broadcast networks finished their Upfront sales for primetime commercial TV spots — that began in mid-May in New York City — early last August. (The Upfront presentations in May were immediately followed by the L.A. Screenings in Hollywood.) Advertising rates were generally in line with expectations, with CPM increases in the mid-tohigh single digit range. Estimates are that the five broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and CW — received commitments from advertisers to pre-buy anywhere from about $8.7 billion to $9.15 billion worth of commercial time during the 2013-14 primetime season, which began last month and continues through next May. The Upfront reconfirmed that broadcast television is still a good way for advertisers to get reach and frequency and that, indeed, large brands cannot do without broadcast television. Reportedly, some advertisers decided to “bring forward” some money they had planned to invest during the season in the scatter market because they believe that broadcast primetime commercial spot prices will be even higher during the season. According to some estimates, CBS led the Upfront with commitments ranging from $2.5 billion to $2.6 billion or even as high as $2.75 billion. The CPM rates that CBS charged advertisers for the 2013-14 season are estimated to have increased by an average of 7.5 percent. ABC took in an estimated $2.1 billion to $2.2 billion; NBC, $1.9 billion to $2 billion; FOX about $1.8 billion and CW from $400 million to $420 million. Estimates for the combined cable channels’ advertising commitments are $9.8 billion. AMC, for one, reported sales 20 percent higher as compared to last year’s Upfront. An Analysis of The New U.S. Season, According to RAI’s Luca Macciocca “The major U.S. broadcast networks have adopted a new production and scheduling model. After copying cable channels’ content style, broadcasters are now emulating cable’s programming strategy. Indeed, the major networks have realized that limiting their new series to the fall (while ignoring the important summer season), is no longer working. “Up to now, only cable used to present their premieres during the summer, simply because it was an ‘open’ season, free of new network fare. But today summer is considered a TV period full of viewers and opportunities for advertisers, deserving quality original production on the part of broadcasters, in order to compete not only with cable but also with on-demand services offered by such TV outlets as Netflix, which are investing in popular original productions programmed for binge-viewing that are proving popular with consumers. “However, the complexity and sophistication of the new series’ plots have reached saturation levels. The stories are increasingly difficult to follow — at least at the pilot stage — demanding viewers’ attention that’s no longer required sporadically in ‘signature’ series (examples are series like Lost that offered creative angles for other series such as Flash Forward and Last Resort). “Viewers’ increasingly limited attention spans have resulted in a newly found relevance of sitcoms. This year, it’s become more evident, both in the quantity of such shows and quality of the talent involved (Robin Williams, Michael J. Fox, etc.). Also, inmany returningdrama series, scenes are now shorter, with brief dialogue, which is the case with sitcoms. “As far as the dominant themes are concerned, this year confirmed the almost systematic presence of at least one gay character in each series. Today, if anything, the gay character assumes a positive, educational role (see NBC’s Sean Saves the World). The ‘traditional’ family has been replaced with all different types of families. “Sometimes the roles are reversed, and inDads, the fathers of the two main characters move in with their children. In Mom, we see an exalcoholic single mother struggling with her two daughters, one of whom has an active sex life and smokes marijuana. Their father tries to extort $2,000 from his wife to buy drugs to resell. The mother of the mom, whom the grandchildren idolize, is a former meth addict attracted to boys a third of her age. In Undateable, the failure of the heterosexual couple is already in the show’s premise: they simply can’t communicate. The only example of a true traditional family seems to beThe Goldbergs…but, significantly, that is set in the ’80s!” Luca Macciocca, based in Rome, handles RAI-2’s drama programming (TV series and feature films) and is a regular fixture at the L.A. Screenings. A Good Upfront for Broadcast TV October 2013 L.A. Screenings Roundup DisneyMedia Distribution Latin America’s Fernando Barbosa, Henri Ringel, Santiago Bottaro, JackMorera, Heather Harris, Leonardo Aranguibel, Fabiola Bovino, Gustavo Sorotski Telefilms’ Tomas Darcyl NBCUniversal’s Belinda Menendez, Albavision’s Analida Lopez Watercolor painting of guests at a Fox lot party by artist Shelley Lazarus. From l. to r.: Veteran TV exec Norman Horowitz, NATPE’s Rod Perth, UNE’s John Laing, the artist, VideoAge’s Dom Serafini, Carsey-Werner’s Herb Lazarus, Ledafilms’ Pedro Leda Record TV’s Delmar Andrade
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