NFL Upfront Sales Slump as Auto, Movies Play Hard-to-Get
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NFL sales in the 2017-18 upfront bazaar have been softer than sellers originally had anticipated, and while the networks aren’t exactly scrambling for the Xanax, the volume of money that’s been held back suggests that the league’s media partners may be in for a white-knuckle fall scatter market.
A number of factors have conspired to cast a bit of a pall over this year’s NFL market, which some insiders say is the softest since the Great Recession of 2008. For example, a number of marquee clients have slashed their pro football spend, while a few load-bearing categories aren’t committing anywhere near as many dollars to the NFL as they did a year ago. Meanwhile, a glut of available inventory has put a bit of a squeeze on pricing increases, although the cost of purchasing ad time in a nationally televised NFL game remains a not-inconsiderable investment.
Toss in the media agencies that in recent months have won new accounts in part by promising to lower the boom on price hikes (which inevitably results in their having to move money out of the most costly TV environments), and you’re looking at an NFL market that’s being pulled in all directions like so much saltwater taffy.
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