The CW is bringing something unusual to this year’s upfront: a whole new night of programming.

The 2018 Upfront: Sales Execs Claim Strong Hand Going Into Upfront | Top Broadcast Sales Executives | Buyers Want Better Measurement, But Will Use Old Metrics in Upfront | Levy Wants 5% of TV Ad Budgets Spent on Audiences | Pitching Hispanic Buying Power | Broadcast Networks Take Center Stage

In February, the network, a joint venture of CBS and Warner Bros., announced it will broadcast original shows on Sunday nights. But to Rob Tuck, executive vice president for ad sales at The CW, the network is not just adding another night, but two more hours of original content.

The difference is that The CW’s young viewers are less likely to be gathered around the TV set on Sunday at 8 p.m. than most networks’ consumers. Instead they’ll watch whenever they want on digital devices ranging from connected TV to mobile phone.

Already Selling on Convergence

That digital demographic was one reason why The CW was an early mover in selling its advertising based on convergence, which means selling traditional and online viewing together, Tuck pointed out.

“We had to transform ourselves many, many years ago, because our audience was there,” he said, adding that while traditional ratings are eroding, multiplatform viewing of the network should be up by the end of the year.

Upfronts 2017: CW Charts Path From Broadcast Net to Multiplatform Player

The CW rolled out its own formula for planning and buying cross-platform ad schedules seven years ago.

“Obviously, our peers have all adopted it in some form,” he said. “It’s got a bunch of different names, but the concept is all there. The concept is the same.”

In April, NBCUniversal announced it would be using CFlight, a metric that combines linear and digital viewing, as its currency in the upfront. Other networks have adopted “fluidity,” which allows a network to fulfill audience guarantees using viewers watching on either traditional TV or digital.

“I applaud all the different models that are out there and what everybody’s trying to do, but the basis of it is we still have to have one overall rating so that you can really track what you’re doing across the different platforms,” Tuck said. “It just makes sense.” The CW’s size and its concentration on primetime shows for younger viewers makes fancy metrics and audience buying less of a priority than other channels that have other dayparts and a broader range of viewers.

Still, having a single way of measuring TV is important for advertisers and their agencies.

“Some form of uniformity would make a lot of sense and make it easier for us as well as everybody else,” Tuck said. “I don’t think the business is there yet in figuring that out.”

Tuck said The CW is testing Nielsen’s DTVR (Digital TV Ratings). “But we’ve got our eyes on a bunch of other things,” he added.

Benefiting From Current Trends

Though some analysts predict ad spending on TV to be flat to down in the future, Tuck said this is a good time for The CW to be adding programming. Advertisers are looking for more of the kind of content TV networks provide, in order to reach consumers as traditional ratings decline.

The CW will benefit from other trends in the industry, including the ad reductions going on at networks including Fox, NBC and the Turner channels. Dollars may also shake out of YouTube and other digital players because of concerns over safe content, viewabilty and measurement, Tuck said.

“I do think there is definitely an appetite to have more of the premium original content for our platform and so I just think that’s going to be an opportunity there,” he said. “We’re small, so we’re not going to change the dynamics of supply and demand in the market. But for us, this is big.”

Rita Ferro

Title: President, Ad Sales, Disney/ABC Television Group
Broadcast Network: ABC
2017 Upfront Sales: $2.1 billion.
Outlook: America’s Network is using a “Forward Together” theme to reinforce that Ferro’s team has a portfolio that includes ABC, Freeform and the Disney Media kids business. But with the “Disney Difference,” it can include other Disney units, from films to theme parks, in campaigns. Disney also just announced the launch of Luminate, a suite of advanced advertising products that will be used by both the Disney/ABC networks and by ESPN.

Joe Marchese

Title: President, Advertising Revenue, Fox Networks Group
Broadcast Network: Fox
2017 Upfront Sales: $1.6 billion
Outlook: Marchese is looking to innovate the heck out of the TV ad business. He said his goal was to get Fox’s ad load down to two minutes per hour by 2020. The first place he’s targeting is Sunday night, when each commercial pod will have just two 30-second spots. How much will advertisers pay for that uncluttered environment? We’ll see. Marchese is also pushing six-second ads, which seem to fit particularly well in live sports.

Tonia O’Connor

Title: Chief Revenue Officer, Univision Communications
Broadcast Networks: Univision, UniMás
2017 Upfront Sales: Not available
Outlook: With Telemundo hot on its heels, Univision is rolling out a number of new initiatives in time for this year’s upfront. Univision this month unveiled Aperture, a suit of data-driven advertising products that include precision targeting, a selfserve campaign builder and Campaign Impact, which help evaluate a media buy’s effectiveness. Aperture also features Fokal, an analytic firm that helps drive results across data sets. To reach younger viewers, Univision has made deals to produce projects with Snapchat, Facebook Watch and PopSugar.

The 2018 Upfront: Sales Execs Claim Strong Hand Going Into Upfront | Buyers Want Better Measurement, But Will Use Old Metrics in Upfront | Levy Wants 5% of TV Ad Budgets Spent on Audiences | The CW Brings a New Night to the Market | Pitching Hispanic Buying Power | Broadcast Networks Take Center Stage

Jo Ann Ross

Title: President and Chief Advertising Revenue Officer, CBS
Broadcast Network: CBS
2017 Upfront Sales: $2.5 billion
Outlook: Never better, according to CBS’s ebullient chairman and CEO Les Moonves. No longer stodgy, CBS has been a pioneer in the over-the-top and subscription businesses and Ross said advertisers are interested in CBS All Access, CBSN and CBS Sports HQ. Last year, Ross added digital sales to her portfolio, with former Facebook exec David Lawenda, now executive VP of digital sales and strategy, reporting to her. CBS has also set up CBS Eye Max, a unit devoted to ad innovation and creating branded entertainment with clients.

Rob Tuck

Title: Executive VP, National Sales, The CW
Broadcast Network: The CW
2017 Upfront Sales: } $500 million
Outlook: The CW is an early adopter in monetizing digital viewership, a key for a network that attracts young (for broadcast) viewers. Its convergence sell has been copied by other broadcasters to capture eyeballs glued to mobile phones, iPads and other connected devices. This year adds a new night of primetime programming (see related story), creating the opportunity to generate more advertising revenue.

Linda Yaccarino

Title: Chairman, Advertising Sales and Client Partnerships, NBCUniversal
Broadcast Networks: NBC, Telemundo
2017 Upfront Sales: $6.5 billion*
Outlook: NBCUniversal will kick off Upfront Week on May 14 with a presentation that covers its entire portfolio of broadcast, cable and digital opportunities for advertisers. Yaccarino has been pushing an advanced advertising agenda and this year helped give the audience buying business a boost by joining Fox, Turner and Viacom in the OpenAP consortium. NBCU also launched CFlight, a new metric that measures on air and online impressions. * NBCU upfront revenue across broadcast and cable.