Hope Springs Eternal as TV's Scatter Market Shows New Signs of Life
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In a development that could prove to be a sign that a healthier upfront bazaar is in the cards, the scatter market is showing signs of a resurgence, as marketers in recent weeks have started freeing up their TV budgets.
According to data crunched by Standard Media Index, scatter spend on national broadcast in March increased 43% versus the year-ago period, which has many ad sales executives feeling cautiously optimistic about their prospects in the upfront. (For the uninitiated, “scatter” refers to the unguaranteed buys made outside of the upfront, which account for roughly 20% of the networks’ overall dollar volume. Historically, a strong spring scatter market nearly always proves to be a bellwether for a robust upfront sell-off.)
Last month’s scatter activity marks the first time that in-season demand has helped make up for last summer’s weak 2014-15 upfront. (As much as media CEOs in February crowed about “high single-digit” pricing increases, those marginal gains did nothing to offset the overall weakness of the TV market.)
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