The upfront market is only now picking up steam, as buyers push pricing rollbacks on streamers

After weeks of getting their proverbial ducks in a row, the chief investment officers of several major media agencies, have quietly begun to cut deals with the bigger media players selling their wares in this upfront marketplace. But it’s been a long time coming this year. Why? It’s a buyers’ market apparently — at least according to buyers. 

“This is the slowest developing marketplace that I’ve seen in probably 20 years,” said one buyer who declined to speak for attribution due to client sensitivities — as did the other investment execs. “Every time it’s a buyers market, there’s a slower pace to the marketplace.”

Added another head of investment: “There needs to be an acceptance by partners that they’re not going to get the cost that they maybe were planning on prior to the upfront. There’s a come to Jesus moment for them that needs to happen, and then they realize, ‘If I don’t get going soon, I may lose a lot of [dollar] volume.’ And that’s really being caused by an influx of supply in the streaming space.”

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