Upfront TV ad spend in the U.S. 2019-2025

Upfront TV ad spending in the United States amounted to 19.33 billion U.S. dollars in the 2022/2023 broadcast season. In the 2023/2024 broadcast season upfront spending is expected to decrease to 18.64 billion dollars.

Upfront TV

“Upfronts” are gatherings held by television networks and attended by major advertisers. They allow advertisers to buy television ad airtime before the next broadcasting season begins. In the 2021-22 season, U.S. national primetime TV upfront sales reached approximately 19.04 million U.S. dollars, making it the season with the highest upfront ad sales numbers over the last decade.

Ad time per hour of primetime TV

According to data surrounding the average ad time on U.S. broadcast networks, an average 17 minutes and 36 seconds of ad time per hour could be expected on ABC in the first quarter of 2019. FOX had the lowest ad time per primetime hour during that quarter, averaging at about 12 minutes and 38 seconds. On U.S. cable network groups however, Warner Media had the lowest average ad time per hour: roughly fourteen and a half minutes.