MediaBuyerPlanner: The broadcast networks estimate that the total revenue for the upfront market this year was similar to overall revenues last year - about $9 billion - writes MediaPost. While final totals have been reported - ABC at $2.3 billion, CBS at $2.3 billion, NBC at $1.9 billion, Fox at $1.8 billion, The CW at $650 million, and My Network TV (which isn't quite finished) expected to pull in $50 million - some media buying executives are insisting that these numbers are too high.

One media agency exec said that as much as $600 million is sitting on the sidelines or is actually designated for digital advertising, but Mike Shaw, president of advertising sales at ABC, said the digital claim isn't the case. In fact, he said, ABC didn't sell broadband or VOD in the upfront, but he added that some ABC.com and ABCNews.com extensions were included in the upfront deals.

A number of marketers, such as Johnson & Johnson, sat out the upfront this season, while others have held back some money in order to take advantage of digital opportunities that may arise later in the year, writes AdAge. Those that have sat out may take advantage of the scatter market. While generally there is a price penalty for buying in the scatter market, last year marketers weren't "burned by buying scatter," said Shaw - though ABC claimed it received increases of 10 percent or more in last year's scatter market.

The slow upfront market this year - taking four weeks to complete as opposed to the two- and three-day upfronts of years ago - was needed by the networks in order to hit their overall revenue goals. If the networks sold the amount of advertising they were hoping, that should mean a healthy scatter market for them, as less inventory typically means higher prices.

Prior coverage on this year's upfront:

Thursday Nights Most Competitive This Fall

NBC Upfront Closed, with $1.9 Billion Take

Slow Network Upfront Affects Syndication, Cable

Merrill Upfront Projection Revised From Flat to -1

ABC Price Hikes Highest in Upfront

Upfront Halfway Mark Nears, ABC Beginning to Move

Chernin: Fox Sold 70 Percent of Upfront Inventory

Starcom/Turner Entertainment Sign $150 Million Upfront Deal

Upfront Update: NBC May Roll Back Pricing, ABC Inks No Deals Yet

Merrill Lynch Bullish on Upfront Projections

MTV, OMD Sign First Major Cable Deal of Upfront

CW Snags Advertisers at Slightly Higher than WB Levels Last Year

Upfront Deals at 2 to 4 Percent CPM Bumps