Upfront Week 2023 -- Not at All What I Expected

Perhaps it was because I watched them on my computer in the comfort of my home or because after the last three years media companies have gotten so good at virtual productions but I was thoroughly engaged by almost everything that NBCUniversal Fox The Walt Disney Co and Warner Bros Discovery had to offer It is always appropriate to mention that regardless of how an Upfront event is received a huge number of talented dedicated people work tirelessly to put them together and carry them offSome of these companies dwelled a bit too long on sports but that was understandable given that professional athletes were available to appear without strikerelated complications that many of them are more popular than just about any actor on television and that broadcast television is increasingly about sports first and everything else secondThe most entertaining moment of the week came right at the start on Monday with the rousing production number that opened NBCUniversal39s show featuring the charmingly abrasive bear Ted soon to transition from big screen to small with a series on Peacock The most powerful moment was an appearance by Damon Hamlin during Disney39s presentation on Tuesday For reviews of these events and more read Simon Applebaum39s Upfront Week reports The most amazing party from what I have heard was the Telemundo celebration on Tuesday night In the years immediately prior to the pandemic Telemundo had always thrown the best blasts Apparently that hasn39t changed Note to self Hit Telemundo next year Juan Ayala has a recap of this year39s Telemundo excitement hereWhat else worked as Simon Applebaum might ask Well after three years of little if any inperson interaction for so many of us the week provided a valuable opportunity to see in action the new executive ranks comprised of veterans and newcomers up close and personal They were all wellrehearsed and they executed in fine fashionFor me the biggest surprise of all was the effectiveness of Netflix39s firstever Upfront Week presentation which was virtual only As modern and executiveintensive as it was the endresult was very similar to that of a traditional quotoldtimeyquot broadcast Upfront showcase I mean that as high praise CoCEOs Ted Sarandos pictured at top and Greg Peters focused heavily on business strategies while Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria Scripted Series Vice President Peter Friedlander Drama Series Vice President Ginny Howe and Unscripted and Documentary Series Vice President Brandon Riegg focused heavily on content a smart move given that advertisers need to be familiar with the streamer39s vast array of content before they place their clients39 spots And there was plenty of information about how best to do that President Worldwide Advertising Jeremi Gorman and Vice President Global Advertising Sales Peter Naylor Everyone39s remarks were crisp enticing and to the point without the heavyhanded explanations one might expect from a newcomer to the business of selling advertising and orchestrating marketing campaignsAs a member of the television press I found all the talk and clips about new and returning series to be very satisfying and well worth my time When it ended I wanted to watch several of the shows that had been previewed That39s exactly how I used to feel when I exited Radio City Music Hall or Carnegie Hall after NBC CBS ABC Fox and the restNexstar39s event for The CW was similarly smart It wasn39t a true Upfront presentation like Paramount Nexstar is going with agency meetings to engage advertisers Instead it was an inperson and virtual press conference for the many journalists who are on the front line of Upfront Week reporting getting word out to both the business and potential audiences CW President Dennis Miller and Entertainment President Brad Schwartz took everyone through The CW39s fall 2023 schedule in such a way that provided absolute clarity about Nexstar39s programming strategy for the network There can no longer be any doubt about what the quotnewquot CW is up to Now we39ll see what works and what doesn39tMy general enthusiasm for what I watched last week however does not change my overall feeling that Upfront presentations as they have always been known are no longer necessary The industry like much of the world around it has changed so completely in recent years that the very idea of a series of events orchestrated by the conglomerates that own most of the television business crushed together into what is now a threeday period seems in large part ridiculous especially when one considers as I have been stating for years even before the pandemic that so much of the information quotrevealedquot during these presentations is already known to anyone who has an email account or pays even minimal attention to social media Anyone in the audience advertisers and press alike who isn39t already up on most of the above probably shouldn39t be an invited guest in the first place because it would seem they just aren39t paying attentionThese days there is no excuse for that But back in the old days when each of its events were all about or mostly focused upon one network Upfront Week used to be as informative as it was entertaining And it was often full of surprises Enhanced by the eager participation of celebrities most of them from scripted programs attendees were reminded by accessible senior executives who were stars themselves Brandon Tartikoff Howard Stringer Bob Iger Les Moonves Ted Harbert Warren Littlefield Kevin Reilly Nina Tassler Charlie Collier Kelly Kahl etc of what had been accomplished and informed of what was to come as far as programming scheduling advertising and marketing were concerned The combination of sitting through a presentation and then talking with participants at afterparties was unarguably invaluable and admittedly a lot of fun for anyone who knew how to work a roomI thought that the ravages of COVID in 2020 and 2021 the wobbly efforts to achieve something resembling the quotold normalquot in 2022 and the fresh hell of the current WGA strike might have finally convinced the industry to find another way to accomplish its critical messaging to the advertising community But only Paramount Global seems to have figured that out opting this year for small agency meetings rather than a bigbudget extravaganza Paramount39s broadcast network CBS which for many years produced the Upfront Week event to beat at Carnegie Hall had scheduled a presentation of some kind in Los Angeles on May 9 I was eager to see what CBS had in store amp8230 but the event was cancelled due to the WGA strikeWhat happens next With no end in sight for the WGA strike and potential strikes by SAGAFTRA and the DGA looming casting even darker shadows over the industry there is no way to tell The only certainty is that this postpandemic economically unclear strikeheavy ultracompetitive season promises to be unlike any that has come before As we move through it I think smaller events for advertisers and the press scattered throughout the months ahead might be in order Like it or not somethings have to changeClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Upfront Week 2023 -- Not at All What I Expected

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Ed Martin

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