?The “New Kids” Are Coming In Hot
- In their first post-merger upfront, the Warner Bros. Discovery and TelevisaUnivision upfront presentations were crafted with advertisers in mind. While programming was certainly highlighted, there was dedicated time towards new ad product rollouts, ad loads, and measurement/currency partnerships.
- In a week full of celebrity appearances and captivating trailers, Jon Steinlauf (Warner Bros Discovery Chief US Ad Sales Officer) explicitly stating that pricing incentives would be offered to broader demo guarantees was a breath of fresh air and practicality.
- TelevisaUnivision has been busy. Not only are they launching innovative ad units across their streaming platform Vix with plans to launch Vix+ later this year, they also created a proprietary audience identify graph that is more accurately able to identify Hispanic households vs. existing 3p sources. Underrepresentation in measurement has long been an issue in the multicultural space so this is a huge step forward. Streaming growth in the HCM space has also lagged vs. GM so we expect rapid development here as more original Spanish language content is developed for that space.
?No one Wants to Talk about the Elephant in the Room…except Jimmy Kimmel
- By only attending the upfront presentations, it would be difficult to know linear ratings are down quite a bit (-12% YOY). The stats we heard instead was that NBC is #1 in A1849 with the most stable lineup of top dramas and comedies; Disney is unrivaled with its portfolio reaching 93% of US adults; Warner Bros. Discovery has #1 portfolio for live prime time viewership. The only explicit acknowledgment of the continued shift in consumption came from TelevisaUnivision which boasted that Spanish language linear ratings are up in sharp contrast with their English language competitors, and Jimmy Kimmel’s roast of his employer.
- Publishers are instead framing that across portfolios, there’s something for everyone: whether that’s on their distinct cable brands, in prime, or across streaming – further encouraging migration to broader demo guarantees.
Sports is the New Primetime
- So said Jon Steinlauf, and it was certainly proven out by the amount of time dedicated to Sports content throughout the week. Sports, of course, is the only format showing ratings increase YOY.
- Fox touted several high profile events: Super Bowl, NFL Thanksgiving game, FIFA World Cup, MLC World Series, Daytona 500 – and of course Tubi.
- ESPN is bringing back the XFL, and the NHL and expanding its partnership with the NFL. They also promoted the support of Women’s Sports as well as the Manning brother’s Megacast MCU (Manning Cinematic Universe). And not to be outdone by Fox, they’ve bagged the Super Bowl for 2027!
- No new announcements for Paramount, but they continue to draw in significant eyeballs across NFL, Soccer, NCAA, and PGA.
?IPs are Still Moneymakers
- While publishers are certainly investing in new/original content, they’re also leaning heavily on established brands/IPs that already have a built-in and passionate audience.
- At NBC, Universal Studios is taking movies straight from theatrical to an ad-supported platform for the first time; the long-running Chicago and Law & Order universes aren’t going anywhere, and Bravo is taking their Bravolebrities into the wild with a live BravoCon event. Of course, not sure their planned reboots (Night Court and Quantum Leap of 80s/90s fame) will find similar appeal in today’s cultural landscape.
- Disney has found continued success with the Bachelor franchise and is currently in production with 35+ films for Disney+ including sequels Hocus Pocus 2 and Disenchanted. The Marvel universe is also expanding rapidly with SheHulk and a Nick Fury-centric show. To date, Marvel has released 6 shows on Disney+ that connect the Marvel films with new original series, driving up viewership.
- There’s a stark contrast between the amount of long-running programming and reboots on linear (perhaps to satisfy the older viewers still dominating viewership), and the original content being developed for streaming video where viewers are eager for fresh innovation.
?News is Still a Battlefield
- In today’s culture, trusted news is more important than ever – a theme heard across all the major publishers.
- Lester Holt, David Muir, and Anderson Cooper all made appearances for their respective networks, praising the resources and on-the-ground reporting dedicated to producing the highest-quality journalism. Paramount even themed the entire upfront presentation around “60 Minutes.”
- Conversely, Fox News hid its most high-profile prime-time hosts away from the upfront crowd, relying on Bret Baier (evening news anchor) and Harris Faulkner (morning talk show host) to represent the division. In a nod towards advertising realities, Fox unveiled Atlas – a new AI-driven ad tech platform to help advertisers navigate brand suitability and contextual alignment. The platform will launch across Fox News first before deployment across other divisions.
