NEW YORK: This is a practice that the Indian broadcasters must adopt! The upfront advertising market, held in May, is a freewheeling auction in which ad agencies and advertisers make annual commercial commitments to networks.

An adage report states that the US television industry's advertising upfront market is already on and various broadcasters are using the forum to make presentations on their offerings. The initial deals will start happening during this weekend.

The report also states that upfront deals in strong markets can be concluded quickly whereas weaker markets take a longer time. There are predictions that a positive outlook will ensure that the airtime rates will be around eight per cent higher than last year's $8.1 billion.

It's estimated networks will be asking for anywhere from 12 per cent to 18 per cent increases on the cost-per-thousand (CPM) viewer increases -- though they'll settle for somewhat less. The adage reports that media buyers estimate deals will be struck at gains of 5 per cent for Viacom's UPN, 6 per cent for Walt Disney Co.'s ABC, 9 per cent at Viacom's CBS, 10 per cent for General Electric Co.'s NBC, 11 per cent for Fox, and 15 per cent for AOL Time Warner's WB.