Agency execs expect sports to push the upfront’s pace, pricing with up to double-digit spending increases

Jimmy Fallon greeted the crowd at what he called “the NBA upfront” before correcting himself at the NBCUniversal upfront presentation on May 12. He had it right the first time.

Sports has played a primary role in TV networks’ and more recently streaming services’ upfront shows for years. But this year it was the show and is expected by agency executives to dictate the upfront marketplace to a greater degree than previously.

While many ad buyers expect the amount of money committed in this year’s upfront overall across traditional TV and streaming to be flat if not down compared to last year, the sports side of the upfront is another story.

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AI is scaling in advertising – outcome-based pay isn’t

AI is speeding up everything in advertising — except how advertisers pay agencies, which is still moving at a crawl. 

There are early signs — just look at Sir Martin Sorrell’s latest quarterly reflections — but, he, his peers and their clients are still in the foothills of this shift, not anywhere near the summit.

“AI has not as of yet transformed the remuneration model,” said Forrester analyst Jay Pattissall.

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