Scatter Bleak as Economic Doubts Mount

Both buy- and sell-side execs see softness in Q4 TV mart that could signal worse conditions to come

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Despite the stubbornly high unemployment rate, the debt crisis in Europe, and deteriorating consumer confidence, the U.S. advertising market over the last several quarters has displayed a breezy sort of pluck, whistling past the graveyard that is the world economy. But now television is starting to feel the bite, and its troubles could herald the beginning of a downturn for the industry as a whole.

According to TV network sales executives and media buyers, in recent weeks the ad market has begun buckling under the weight of economic uncertainty, and the price for scatter—the ad inventory left over after the upfronts—has dropped precipitously.

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