TelevisionWeek: Bell Rings for Upfront Reform

Kicking off the semi-annual carping fest about how terrible the upfront television buying process remains, TelevisionWeek puts together some good agency-side sources to run the gamut of complaints.

The upfront, whereby reps pre-sell much of their media half a year before it runs, allows the sellers to "count the house," and maximize their prices by determining with precision the amount of demand available. Agencies, ever aware of this severe disadvantage, can't resist participation because, at heart, they're too fearful to sit on the sidelines and too lazy to create better deals throughout the year.

Sellers feel threatened by the momentum for reform, accusing buyers of potentially colluding. They apparently fail to understand that collusion laws in the U.S. run against sellers, not buyers, and that they are much more at threat.