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Lifetime leads cable pack, but still cautious about upfront

Apr 16, 2001  •  Post A Comment

What’s the view from basic cable’s No. 1 network? At Lifetime, the first-quarter ratings leader, it’s hard to disagree with the advertisers’ sense that the economy is turning down, says Lynn Picard, executive vice president, advertising sales, Lifetime Entertainment Services, but the response is, “We’re the stock in the portfolio that’s delivering now.”
Ms. Picard doesn’t expect the total dollars spent in upfront to be down, but said, “I do think that there will be some concerns from advertisers in making that long-term commitment so far in advance.”
“We really need to see how third-quarter options come in,” Ms. Picard said, “because it will give people a sense of if in fact things may turn around this year. If not, it puts a psychological dampening on how people feel.”