By Steven Perlberg 

UPPING THE UPFRONT: The "upfront" negotiating period, when ad buyers and networks haggle over ad time for the upcoming fall season, has begun, Variety reports. While talks are still in the early stages (and will likely extend through the summer), Variety notes that CBS and NBCUniversal are beginning to secure commitments. Despite the challenges in the industry, TV executives are bullish this year. Pricing in the year-round "scatter" market has been strong, a result of a scarcity of ad inventory brought by diminished ratings and the fact that many advertisers held back their dollars last upfront. That may put networks in a position to drive a harder bargain this year, but as Variety notes, ad buyers are resisting double-digit percentage price hikes. As Matthew Ball writes at Redef, even a strong upfront would distract from the "impending fall of TV ad spend" due to eroding TV audiences. Yes, even as other media have lost ad dollars to digital, TV's relative resilience has been "impressive," he writes, "but it can't go on forever" based on trends in how people are consuming content.

INFLUENCER TECH: By now your Instagram and Twitter feeds are full of "influencers" hawking various products (with varying degrees of disclosure about who is paying). For years those deals were brokered the old-fashioned way: people picking up the phone and negotiating. But as CMO Today reports, a boatload of influencer marketing firms are offering marketers fancy dashboards and software where they can flip through influencers and select who they want in a more automated fashion. In theory, that's easier for marketers, but some in the space liken it to the early days of ad tech. "Few of these startups have anything real under the hood," said Ted Murphy, CEO of social influencer firm IZEA. Indeed, ad buyers say that sometimes the tactic can result in poor targeting, or that marketers who have a bad experience end up irked at the social media network instead.

CEASEFIRE: Hulk Hogan will have to go to his corner while Gawker Media sorts out its bankruptcy situation. As The Wall Street Journal reports, a Manhattan bankruptcy judge announced that both sides had agreed to a "complete standstill" until next month, when Gawker will return to bankruptcy court. Lawyers for Terry Bollea, the wrestler's real name, had planned to seek sanctions against Gawker CEO Nick Denton, who is fighting a Florida jury's $140 million invasion-of-privacy ruling levied against him and his company. Meanwhile, with doubts swirling about whether potential acquirer Ziff Davis would shutter Gawker Media's namesake site, Mr. Denton posted a memo calling Gawker.com "as indestructable as a New York cockroach." He said he would make sure Gawker.com finds "an investor with a tolerance for controversy." Mr. Denton also acknowledged that the company's legal woes had "undoubtedly depressed" the company's valuation. Ziff Davis kicked off the auction for the company at about $90 million.

NETFLIX AND BILL: In December, at the premiere of Netflix's "A Very Murray Christmas," Bill Murray grabbed Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos by the lapels and yelled to him, "You are the future," according to a New York Times report on the streaming giant. Mr. Murray is far from the only person in the entertainment business to recognize how vastly Netflix has changed the ecosystem. But the company that added "binge-watching" and "Netflix and chill" into the American vernacular still has its doubters on Wall Street, who question its tiny profit (only $28 million on $2 billion in revenue for the first quarter). The question now is whether the company's global ambitions and huge $5 billion content budget can set it on a path to dominate the future of internet TV as companies like Hulu nip at its heels.

Elsewhere

Ahead of Cannes, Snapchat is striking another deal to boost its measurement capabilities, this time with Oracle. The company says the deal will help show marketers that advertising on Snapchat can boost in-store sales. [ Bloomberg]

After Viacom's lead independent director expressed frustration at being unable to meet controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone, the mogul responded in a statement issued through a spokesman, saying he no longer trusts Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman "or those who support him." [ WSJ]

TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager, who announced in March that his leukemia is no longer in remission, will cover Game 6 of the NBA Finals on rival network ESPN, the first time in his career he has covered a final. [ SB Nation]

CBS has extended its rights deal with the Grammy Awards through at least 2026. The network has broadcast the event since 1973. [ NYT]

Tumblr was Marissa Mayer's biggest acquisition, but top executives at Yahoo clashed with employees at Tumblr, leading many to flee and destroying morale at the company, writes Mashable's Seth Fiegerman. Yahoo said Tumblr remains an "integral part" of the business. [ Mashable]

As Disney promoted the launch of its new Shanghai theme park, tragedy struck at Disney World in Florida when a 2-year-old was killed in an alligator attack. [ WSJ]

The Boston Globe became the latest newspaper to use its front page for an anti-gun editorial, showing a picture of an AR-15 and the words "make it stop." [ CNN]

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Write to Steven Perlberg at steven.perlberg@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 16, 2016 07:43 ET (11:43 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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