NBC reports robust ‘upfront’ ad sales

NBC on Thursday said, “Deal,” and the suitcase contained $1.9 billion. The fourth-place network, home of the hit game show “Deal or No Deal,” said it racked up $1.9 billion in advance prime-time advertising sales for the fall season. The total surprised many people not only because of the network’s low ratings but also because it managed to sell the commercial time without making the traditional TV pilots to show Madison Avenue. NBC is the first of the five broadcast networks to finish its sales in the “upfront” market, when the networks sell the bulk of their commercial time for the coming season. NBC executives described the sales as robust — nearly $100 million above last year’s total — despite an economic slowdown and ratings that fell about 10% in the just-completed season. For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-nbc6-2008jun06,0,3925108.story