Networks back to sitcoms

Weren't they supposed to be dead? Weren't the networks going to rachet down the number of pilots they produce? Guess strategies change pretty fast in TV land because about half of the new series being considered for next fall are comedies, according to The Wrap. All told, the networks are evaluating about 20 traditional laugh-track comedies for fall launch. Meanwhile, upfront season gets going next week and early projections are not good: a 10 percent to 20 percent decline in spending from a year ago. But beware of jumping to conclusions - media buying strategies are often convoluted and even contradictory. From Ad Age:

National advertising is "atrocious," Wachovia analyst Marci Ryvicker said in a recent research note, and total upfront dollars "are expected to be down double digits." Meanwhile, ad rates for "scatter" advertising, or inventory purchased much closer to the time it airs, are holding at or below pricing for last year's upfront, she said. Several network executives report that demand for second-quarter scatter is coming in stronger than expected, with domestic automakers among those putting down cash. All this means more power in the hands of marketers.

Or does it? As always, there's another side to the negotiations. Look for the broadcast networks to hold back a heavier-than-usual amount of inventory in the hopes that the economy improves toward the end of 2009 and into 2010. That way, they can get better "scatter" prices -- and perhaps more revenue. After all, as network ad-sales chiefs will tell you, they are less concerned with the shadowy upfront totals everyone reports -- and which merely represent a commitment to buy, not hard cash in the bank -- and more focused on the 52-week total they deliver to their parent corporations.