Upfront 2021

Ion, Bounce see healthy price gains

Negotiations wrap up after first appearance at NewFronts

Discovery finished its upfront negotiations, gaining price increases in the high teen, at the top of the range for cable programmers, sources said.

This year’s upfront market was so hot that Comcast’s incipient streaming service Peacock collected $500 million in commitments from advertisers.

Roku said its upfront negotiations resulted in double the commitments from advertisers to buy commercials on the streamer.

WarnerMedia said it completed its negotiation with the major media buying agencies and secured a company record amount of commitments from advertisers.

ViacomCBS is close to done with its upfront deals and is seeing what sources indicate were “historic” price increases.

NFL, college football inventory goes fast

Discovery is not done with its upfront and is pushing for higher prices, CEO David Zaslav said.

The Walt Disney Co.’s shift to streaming was reflected in its upfront, with 40% of the upfront dollars committed to its properties going to streaming or digital.