Key executives at some media companies are openly expressing concern about the scatter market, while others remain optimistic, Advertising Age reports.

In some cases, the two opposing views are part of the same corporate family. Viacom executives have been fretting about the market prospects while at corporate sibling CBS, boss Leslie Moonves has recently said demand for ad inventory in the scatter market is OK.

Other companies, including Disney and AMC, have noted some slowing, the report says.

The report notes that marketers have been paying tough premiums in recent years, but adds that things could change if the market softens.

The report adds: “Concern is palpable. With the U.S. still mired in a sluggish economy, advertisers’ willingness to spend may well hinge on consumers’ ability to buy the goods they hawk. ‘U.S. advertising trends have been decelerating over 2011 and came in below forecast for the second quarter in a row,’ Nomura Securities analyst Michael Nathanson said in a research note Monday. ‘We are worried that national scatter trends, a major source of upside, have cooled and will become even more challenging in the first quarter,’ he said.”