Upfront Deals Are Being Made; the Largely Unanswered, Whispered Question: 'Psst, That CPM Number, What Base Is That off of? Ad Age, B&C, MediaPost, TVWeek

Upfront deal making has finally picked up. As usual, both buyers and sellers are compromising, sometimes one more than the other, as the marketplace settles into place.

We have three must reads for you about the upfront. All three of the reporters involved (as well as yours truly) once worked at the bible of the advertising business--Advertisng Age--and one still does.

Here are the articles:

1) Claire Atkinson's most perceptive piece from her B&C blog;

2) Veteran Wayne Friedman's reportage in MediaPost's Media Daily News; and

3) Brian Steinberg's discerning article from Ad Age.

If you're seriously interested in what's going on with the Upfront Marketplace, please read all three.

Also, if you missed our own piece about why it's almost August and all of this is just going down now, entitled "What's Really Going on with the Upfront," please click here.

—Chuck Ross