Still, it remains unclear if network executives will be swayed by an argument for lower prices when next year's upfront market arrives.

In some recent years, when demand from advertisers was particularly strong, the upfront market was completed by Memorial Day.

Given the challenging environment the broadcasters are facing, they may consider it a victory that the upfront market is not much lower than last year's.

When the upfront market began in mid-May, all the big networks insisted they would hold firm and not cut rates.

But the outlook for the upfront market has become cloudy as setbacks in the war effort compete for news media attention with the successes.

The agencies' adamance that they weren't going to pay a lot for commercial time in the upfront market was "more than mere posturing," he added.

Advertisers and agencies also say they are unhappy that the upfront market begins in the spring, months before they complete marketing plans for the year.

In a way, the movie industry's move into the upfront market was probably inevitable.

Automobiles, a source of heavy spending in previous upfront markets, was described as flat to down slightly.

Forecasts of how much the upfront market will grow this year range widely.