CBS sees costlier season for prime-time TV ads
NEW YORK (Reuters) - CBS Corp Chief Executive Leslie Moonves on Thursday predicted advertisers would pay more for prime-time television commercials next season, but said discussions to book the deals were moving slowly.
"We've begun the dance with the advertisers, the major advertising agencies, and the clients," Moonves said at the Sanford Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference. "The marketplace will be up, I'm confident of that. How high up? It's still too early to tell."
Moonves said advertisers have reacted favorably to CBS's 2008-09 schedule. The network unveiled its schedule earlier this month during the so-called upfronts.
A year ago, the major broadcast networks signed about $9 billion worth of deals for prime-time TV commercials during the upfront period. At that time, CBS saw increases for the season in the range of 7 percent to 9 percent, sources said.
But with a slow U.S. economy and weaker TV ratings -- due in part to the 14-week strike by screenwriters -- some advertising executives have forecast a tougher environment and lower prices for the broadcast networks for 2008-09.
Automotive advertising is a particular worry, with the industry under heavy pressure. While Moonves acknowledged that carmakers were spending less, he said the impact was mostly being felt in local TV advertising and would be somewhat offset by spending on political commercials in this presidential election year.
As for the upfronts, advertisers have also predicted a slowdown in negotiations, in part because deals have grown more complicated as the broadcast networks have expanded them to include other advertising components, like the web.
Moonves also forecast a drawn-out upfront period.
"It's going to be a slower process this year. We're ready to go; we're doing the dance," he said. "We expect it will happen, maybe June, maybe July, when it will all break."
CBS, which this past season lost the title of most-watched network to News Corp's Fox, added three new dramas and two comedies to its fall prime-time schedule. Those will be added to a lineup best known for the "CSI" crime series, comedies "Two and a Half Men" and "How I Met Your Mother" and the long-running reality series "Survivor."
(Reporting by Paul Thomasch, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
