The upfronts will never die, they will just change into a new form.
Yes, the days when the TV upfronts would culminate with a broadcast network revealing their fall schedule is long gone. In its place are star-studded celebrations of corporate synergy, with movies, TV shows, streaming originals, sports, news and even theme parks all getting time in increasingly condensed presentation to CMOs, media buyers and other Madison Avenue power players.
Last year’s upfront was marred by the surprise tariffs announced by President Trump (they were found to be unconstitutional earlier this year), but despite geopolitical tensions, this year’s ad market sounds … unaffected, at least for now.
“Yes, there’s a lot of noise, but I still think marketers are spending money,” one ad sales chief says. “I don’t think we’re in the position of the slowdown we saw a little bit last year around tariffs and what they would mean. By the way, the market bounced back pretty quickly after that. I think it was a moment.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s a bull market, but it’s definitely not a bear market,” another ad sales chief says. “There is a little bit of cautiousness as it relates to the macroeconomic climate, the general economy, interest rates, so on and so forth. And then I do think that the geopolitical stuff is top of mind for a lot of people, but it hasn’t transpired or translated into any meaningful deviations.”
So what can folks expect beginning with NBCUniversal on Monday morning and culminating with YouTube Wednesday evening? The Hollywood Reporter spoke to CMOs, media buyers, and top network ad executives to get a sense of the trendlines.
Lots of NFL (and other sports too)
Look, despite ongoing federal investigations and a possible Fox-led influence campaign, the NFL remains the undisputed king of TV. Every single company presenting (except for Warner Bros. Discovery, sorry WBD) has NFL game rights, and every single one of them will take advantage of those rights.
Look out for surprise deals for new games (like that Thanksgiving Eve game the league is shopping) schedule release drops of big games, and maybe an appearance or two from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell himself.
The Walt Disney Co. is in the market now for the 2027 Super Bowl and is going big, so expect plenty of football at Tuesday’s upfront at the Javits Center.
But it won’t just be the NFL on stage. With the FIFA World Cup hitting North America this summer (Fox and NBCUniversal’s Telemundo have the rights) and with the new WNBA deals kicking in too, expect plenty of other sports stars to make appearances. In fact, Amazon VP of ad sales Tanner Elton says that Prime Video is already sold out of WNBA ad inventory for the season, and multiple sources say that demand for women’s sports remains very high.
Creators, creators everywhere
When YouTube first invaded TV’s upfront week in 2022 it did so as a digital disruptor.
Now it is effectively the closer, with a full scale concert (Lady Gaga last year, Chappell Roan this year) and a swarm of its top creators in tow to woo ad buyers. Trevor Noah, Kareem Rahma and Alex Cooper are among the creators that YouTube has lined up this year.
But YouTube won’t be alone, multiple sources say. Expect creators to show up at multiple other events next week as well. Fox’s Tubi has made a business out of giving YouTube talent deals for shows and movies, and Netflix has turned to creators for kids and family fare (Ms. Rachel, Mark Rober) and video podcasts (like Barstool Sports and The Ringer).
“Upfronts are not, and premium video is not, just about this professionally produced superstar talents. You’re seeing all of this creator content come to these streaming platforms,” one buy side source says. “Tubi has a creator offering Disney, all of these major networks, NBC used [creators] for the Olympics. What lived outside of the mainstream now is the mainstream. The TikTok-ification of TV.”
Other streaming platforms like Disney+ and Peacock have suggested in recent months that their push into vertical video could go beyond pure reclippings from their shows, could creator content around their fandoms be the next step?
And speaking of which…
The word of the week will be: “Fandoms”
You can bank on it.
Peacock is framing its content strategy around it: “When we look to the future of our fandom, we know that our fans want deeper access, and we know new viewers want the easiest possible entry point into our content,” said Frances Berwick, the chair of Bravo and Peacock unscripted, at an event in March.
New Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro (look for him to make an appearance Tuesday) talked about how fans care about Disney’s brands over and over again in his first earnings report, with “fan” or “fans” being mentioned some 30 times on the earnings call.
Likewise, Netflix and HBO Max have also leaned into developing fandoms around their franchise IP, be it Harry Potter and Game of Thrones or Bridgerton and KPop Demon Hunters.
As entertainment gets increasingly franchised, forging “fandoms” around that IP is the next logical step.
Agentic buying … and other ad tech buzzwords
Look, the advertising business has always been early to adopt new technologies, and AI has legitimately transformed the advertising business. Brands now give their creative to the big platforms and their agentic ad tech does the rest “it really is like magic” one buy-side source says.
So of course streaming platforms need to catch up. And they are. If you have an upfront bingo card, make sure you have “agentic,” “outcome,” or “AI” on your board and you will be guaranteed a win.
Last year Amazon and Netflix unveiled ad formats that use generative AI to develop custom creative. Expect more of that this year.
“I understand from the publisher perspective and the platform perspective why it’s important, but from an advertiser perspective, where we’re moving towards automation and performance, and throw in any buzzword you want to throw in, why should we continue to lean in [to the upfronts]?” a buy-side source says. “I don’t see a ton of value in it. But, you know, I think the role of the upfront evolving, because the way we buy is evolving.”
“The legacy systems that had existed in the not too far past, as you know, you would plan your thing, it would take 30 days to get the thing, and then through digital you had much more real-time data,” a network source responds. “Now, through all of the agentic systems that are being built around measurement and automation that drive intelligence around targeting, the opportunity to really measure results and optimize in real time, all of that will change the velocity with which they need to run and plan their business.”
Self loathing
Jimmy Kimmel’s annual upfront routine will surely be closely-watched given the current relationship between Disney and the FCC. Seth Meyers’ opening day roast will surely be similarly-barbed. And Trevor Noah will likely have some words about the legacy TV world he left behind for YouTube.
As one source quipped when asked about the state of the upfronts: “It’s the end of the world we know it, and I feel fine.”
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