The 2018 television Upfront \u201cis a marketplace with more moving parts than ever,\u201d says media agency veteran Chris Geraci. Still, the age-old dynamics between supply and demand for linear TV advertising inventory endure.<\/p>\n
Overall, this year\u2019s Upfront is \u201cnot all that different from a marketplace that\u2019s reflective of a relatively healthy economic backdrop,\u201d Geraci, who is President of National Video Investment at OMD, says in this interview conducted by OMD\u2019s Ben Winkler at the recent Beet Retreat in the City<\/a>. \u201cThere is a significant amount of pressure in certain areas, mostly due to supply dynamics in linear television and fragmented viewership, combined with some increased spending from advertisers that rely heavily on television,\u201d says Geraci.<\/p>\n He pinpoints that reliance in large part as relating to older-skewing brands for which \u201ctelevision is still really the best place, the most fertile hunting ground.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about efforts by providers like Fox and NBCUniversal to roll out reduced ad-load offerings, Geraci responds, \u201cTime will tell.\u201d<\/p>\n While there are potential positives in making the linear TV experience more like what viewers can get with digital offerings, reducing commercial load comes with a big caveat. \u201cWhen you restrict supply, there are going to be pricing issues, and we get that,\u201d Geraci explains. \u201cThe astute buyer tries to pay the lower price and we\u2019re making efforts in that regard.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked by Winkler<\/a> about the efforts by Fox and NBCU, Geraci says, \u201cI don\u2019t know that we\u2019re there yet in terms of finding that price-value relationship, for at least the two being discussed now.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking ahead, Geraci<\/a> outlines his desired outcome. \u201cOur hope is that over time, if the expectation is that the viewing experience is better, more people will interact with the programming, ratings will ultimately increase. That\u2019s the hope is that if you improve the experience you\u2019re going to ultimately further down the road build back supply simply by higher ratings of at last live or slightly delayed commercial television. That\u2019s sort of the holy grail.\u201d<\/p>\n