NBC - SILVERMAN MAY DESERVE A BREAK TODAY

SILVERMAN MAY DESERVE A BREAK TODAY

NBC Co-Chairman Ben Silverman says that while the network's upfront sales have been slow, he expects things to pick up next year. Reuters quoted him as telling the Forbes Brainstorm conference in Pasadena that the sell-through market should rebound with the economy. He particularly referred to the plight of previous sponsors who have had to face bankruptcy reorganization during the past year. "Chrysler will have to go in and rebrand strongly. ... We're all collectively playing [sic] for that return." He suggested that cable outlets may recover faster than their broadcast counterparts -- primarily as a result of the fact that they have two sources of revenue -- advertisers and the cable companies that retransmit the programs. He denied that NBC has been cutting prices in the face of advertising cutbacks. Although several reports quoted him as saying that NBC had landed its first up-front deal (with Group M), network executives quickly issued a statement noting only that a deal was "close" being completed. Daily Variety indicated that NBC will likely fetch a price for the Group M deal that will be 7 percent lower than comparable deals a year ago. And Reuters reported this morning (Thursday) that NBC had closed a major deal with McDonald's for the fall season.

23/07/2009