Cable nets may swap rates for greater share; As one executive notes, 'Sometimes going early can hurt you because you may underestimate the potential of the market'.

Advertising Age, May, 2001 by Goetzl, David

What a difference a year makes. Even bullish, relentlessly optimistic Viacom President-Chief Operating Officer Mel Karmazin acknowledged in April that this upfront season will be more challenging for networks due to the economic slowdown. * Mr. Karmazin was overheard at an industry conference saying that last year was a seller's market, which benefited Viacom's fleet of cable networks from MTV to TV Land. This year, he conceded, will be a buyer's market.

But Mr. Karmazin stopped far short of predicting any gloom for his huge company. Of course, it might take Armageddon to do that.

For network executives like Mr. Karmazin, the recent upfronts, driven by the late 1990s stock market boom, are now in the rearview mirror.

TABLES HAVE TURNED...

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