CW Finishes Upfront With 5-6% CPM Gains

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The CW has completed its upfront advertising sales, the
first network to close its books this year.

According to a source familiar with the situation, the CW
earned price increases of 5% to 6% on a cost per thousand viewers (CPM) basis.
It sold slightly less than the 85% of its inventory it sold last year and sales
volume was in line with last year's total of $400 million.

Ratings were up last year for the CW, which has been looking
to broaden its appeal beyond its current core of young females.

The CW is also in the third year of its
"convergence" sale approach, packaging its digital viewership along
with those watching on traditional TV. This year, the network is including
viewers on TV, digital and mobile.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.