First Major Upfront Deal: NBC and Group M

NBC Universal and media holding investment company Group M have inked the first major upfront deal worth between $800 milllion and $1 billion and negotiated on Nielsen's live-plus-three commerical ratings, which means that advertisers pay for viewers that watch commericals within the first three days after the broadcast. The deal reportedly includes NBC's primetime, late night, news and daytime programming, all cable channels (including Bravo and SciFi) and Spanish language Telemundo and product integration. Among the advertertisers participating: Unilever, Sprint, IBM, Volkswagon, Burger King and Audi, Warner Bros. and Paramount (which is interesting because earlier it was the studios who were balking at the "live plus three" standard because of the time sensitive nature of promoting a movie on TV). Prices are up from last year, says Ad Age, which had reported earlier that advertisers and networks are struggling to find common ground:

According to media buyers who spoke with Ad Age, NBC in general was asking for 10% to 12% increases in its CPM rate, while ABC was asking for 12% and Fox was the most aggressive, asking for 14%. Last year, NBC booked $1.9 billion in upfront sales. Combined, the broadcast networks booked an estimated $8.5 billion to $9 billion last year.

Going to NBC first is a smart strategy for buyers, since it is in the weakest position of all the broadcast networks due to its declining ratings last season. By starting with NBC, media buyers may be hoping to set the bar for any negotiations that follow.

NBC, Group M pact at upfronts [Variety]
NBC, Group M Strike First Upfront Deal [Ad Age]