But time and time again, buyers told ADWEEK that the noise didn’t affect volume or getting deals done. Rather, the impact is still ahead.

“It’s going to impact the marketplace in other ways. What happens with a lot of the cable properties, and how many are going to be left? I think we’ll see a lot of consolidation on not just Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount, but also NBC and Disney and everybody else,” a fourth buyer said.

Measurement is still a mess

In April, Nielsen announced that it would incorporate big data from Dish Network, DirecTV, Roku, Vizio, and Comcast into its new measurement system for the fall. For the combined metric, Nielsen’s big data—which comes from 45 million households and 75 million devices—would be brought together with Nielsen’s panel data of 40,000 households.

According to the company, the combination of big data and panel data would provide stability and scale, and show all audiences.

So how did it all work out? “I cannot say the word nothing-burger again,” the second buyer said.

Although one media buyer noted that their company utilized Nielsen’s panel and big data combination, which showcased a better look at groups such as minority audiences, the majority of buyers ADWEEK spoke to said the historical data wasn’t there to transact on.

What happens next

Some aspects of the upfront may never change. For instance, in a divisive election year, the categories that usually show up in news programming, such as pharma, are doing it again, gobbling up finite inventory to reach big audiences and have enough time to list out all those pesky side effects.

However, this year’s deals brought more flexibility than ever, according to buyers, with linear even trying to embrace more of the fluidity and cancel terms associated with digital.

As things change, buyers questioned what a functional upfront looks like in the future.

“There is still something to be said about leveraging your dollars together to make a partnership, but I don’t necessarily think that every deal has to be done,” the second buyer said. “As long as you have the inventory you need for when you need to be on the air, whether it’s part of this year’s deal or next year’s deal, what difference does it make?”