TV’s annual “upfront” sales market has largely closed, but not with much of the fanfare that typically accompanies its end.
TV networks and big media agencies have wrapped the bulk of their discussions around the sale of advertising time ahead of the next cycle of programming from big U.S. media companies, according to two media buying executives familiar with the pace of negotiations. Are the results cause for celebration? Judging by the relative silence in the marketplace, perhaps not.
NBCUniversal, Disney, Paramount Skydance, Warner Bros. Discovery, Amazon and Netflix all declined to comment on the pace of their “upfront” negotiations (NBCU also handles sales for Versant Media). The bulk of the market typically concludes by July 4th.
So far, only Fox Corp. has offered an update on how these critical talks proceeded in 2026. During the “upfront,” U.S. media companies try to strike deals for as much 70% to 80% of their advertising inventory, a process that often nets them tens of millions of dollars in advance commitments. Fox indicated in June that it was able to boost ad commitments to the broader Fox portfolio the high-single-digit percentage range.
But Fox’s guidance may say more about the type of programming it’s trying to win support for, rather than the health of the market itself. Fox primarily sells ads tied to sports and news programming, at a time when Madison Avenue stalwarts know how much harder it is to find big pockets of viewership all watching at the same moment. Fox has less commercial time aligned with scripted dramas and comedies than many of its rivals, which has helped its standing. More viewers watch these programs via streaming video, at times of their own choosing, which makes them more difficult to monetize with ads.
