ABC Sells Local Stations Some of Its Ad Slots

Walt Disney's ABC network is trying out a new approach to ad sales: selling national ad slots to local ABC stations.

The sales, which will begin with six 30-second prime-time slots in the last two weeks of October in "Grey's Anatomy," "Modern Family" and other shows, are timed to enable both the network and the stations to cash in on an historic crush of political advertising tied to the midterm elections. But ABC hopes to use the approach at other times of the year, taking advantage of a wrinkle in the TV market: the aggregate price for the local ads that air on all ABC stations in a particular ad slot is often higher than the price ABC can get for a single national ad. Traditionally, local stations sell a fixed number of commercials when they broadcast shows supplied by national networks. The number is often established in affiliation agreements between the stations and the network, and it varies depending on the kind of programming and when the show airs. The network sells the shows' other spots. ABC is using a computer system dubbed the Inventory Exchange System to handle the new approach. The system offers each ABC station the opportunity to buy a collection of ad slots in national shows at an appropriate price for the particular market. If a station believes it can sell ads for those slots at a profit, it opts in. And if enough stations agree to pay, in total, more than ABC could charge for national commercials in the slots, the system triggers the sales.