As the annual ad space mating ritual in the world's most crowded and influential kids TV market draws nearer, this year's U.S. kids upfront is falling into step with the events of the last two years. Media buyers and network execs forecast the upfront will likely break next month. Ad spending is expected to be in line with the past couple of years, and buyers are saying it's poised to be another buyer's market. Still, an eye-popping 200% ratings increase at Kids' WB! (kids ages two to 11, Monday to Friday daytime) has shaken up the playing field, and the Internet is changing the landscape as it gains more attention from networks as a way to enhance kid media offerings.

As they prepare to enter negotiations with networks, buyers are evaluating kidcasters' performance over the last year. "The only thing that's really hot right now, if you want to call it hot, is Kids' WB!, and that's because of Pokémon," says Gary Carr, senior VP and group director of national broadcast at Western Initiative Media. "Cartoon Network is growing again, but its growth rate has slowed a bit," and Nick is "still pretty well entrenched." TN Media's senior VP/director national broadcast, Larry Blasius, says Fox Kids is "still delivering decent numbers, but not necessarily in the same measures it has in past years, ABC as well." Fox Family Channel is "in many ways still a question mark," and syndication "has been falling by the wayside."

Of all the gains and losses over the last year, Kids' WB!'s swift upsurge is the most dramatic. The network saw a 2.5 increase in Saturday morning Neilsen ratings and a 1.6 jump in weekday daytime ratings among kids ages two to 11 in fourth quarter 1999 over the same period in 1998, unseating Nickelodeon, which was the leading kidcaster in Saturday morning and weekday ratings in Q4 1998. Pokémon led the charge, ranking first, second, fifth and sixth in individual kids program ratings among kids ages two to 11 for Q4 1999.

Jed Petrick, executive VP of media sales for The WB, is obviously pleased at the difference a year can make. The past year has "far and away" been Kids' WB!'s best yet in ratings growth, he says. He credits Pokémon, running 12 times a week, as well as Batman Beyond, but says "many kids found the network and our shows for the first time," drawing more viewers to other shows on its schedule as well. (Men in Black also placed in the top 10 individual kids program ratings for fourth quarter 1999). With the hiring of Donna Friedman to run Kids' WB! in January 1999, the appointment of Susanne Daniels to entertainment president of the parent network in December 1998, and the ensuing growth of Kids' WB!'s scheduling and programming team, "we've given it the kind of attention to detail that we were never able to give Kids' WB! before," Petrick says. The performance turnaround has led to "great demand all year long in the scatter market," he says, adding "we've never had scatter activity like this."

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