ViacomCBS Completes ‘Off the Hook’ Upfront Talks

For weeks, ViacomCBS execs had been anticipating a lucrative upfront haul—and that’s exactly what the company has received as it crosses the upfront finish line. The company saw historic pricing in the upfront, according to a source familiar with negotiations. The source did not provide any specifics about CPM (cost per thousand viewers reached) or volume increases. Speaking at an investors conference earlier this month, ViacomCBS president and CEO Bob Bakish said that the upfront, “is going to be off the hook,” adding that “I’m feeling great about the prospects for the upfront” because “if you look at the scatter market going in, it is a deal for an upfront because of all the demand and pricing we’re seeing.” The tight supply of linear impressions and record scatter premiums this year led ViacomCBS CFO Naveen Chopra to predict at the J.P. Morgan investor conference in May that “both broadcast and cable CPM increases could set new watermarks this year.” The company saw strong volume growth in sports and demand for the CBS broadcast special. There was also significant growth in its audience-targeted offering, Vantage. The travel and movie categories, which had largely been sidelined during the pandemic and last year’s upfront, were big players this year. The company also saw new business from DTC brands. ViacomCBS’ upfront presentation last month highlighted the company’s combined content slate instead of individual brands, like CBS’ franchise-heavy fall lineup, which includes three NCIS and three FBI series. Jo Ann Ross, president and chief advertising revenue officer of ViacomCBS domestic advertising sales, had predicted to Adweek last month that negotiations would be “quick.” But several of ViacomCBS’ rivals crossed the upfront finish line first earlier this month, including The CW, NBCUniversal, Disney and Univision. Top upfront priorities Ross told Adweek that her biggest upfront priorities this year included “working as closely as we can with our clients” and touting the company’s EyeQ Video platform, which includes ad-supported streamers like Paramount+ and Pluto TV, and new InView reporting platform, which helps advertisers evaluate their multichannel investments across the portfolio. Indeed, the company saw significant investment in EyeQ, according to the source. “This is the year that our marketers and advertisers are leaning into digital for incremental reach. They’re impressed by what they’ve seen with our rebranding of Paramount+ [and] they now understand our ecosystem, including Pluto,” said Ross. “There [are] a lot of digital opportunities out there. We’re not the only ones on the block, but I believe if we marry our digital properties with our linear cable and broadcast, it’s a win-win.” Despite the company’s focus on streaming assets like Paramount+ and Pluto TV, “we’re not running away from linear; linear still provides huge reach across CBS and all the Viacom assets,” Ross said. ViacomCBS’ Jo Ann Ross on Top Upfront Priorities and Keeping Her Event Short

TV Upfronts

ViacomCBS Nabs Historic Pricing As It Completes ‘Off the Hook’ Upfront Talks

Execs had predicted 'new watermarks' in broadcast and cable CPM increases

Jason Lynch

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Jason Lynch