| NEWS 05.18.09 1:56 PM |
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In-Person Deals Keep Upfronts Afloat in Uncertain TV Industry
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 | NBC executives at New York's "infront" earlier this month
Photo: © NBC Universal Inc. |
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FROM NEW YORK
Today marks the start of the television networks’ annual Upfront Week, and though the industry has seen significant changes over the last few years, the practice of courting advertisers in person doesn’t look to be going anywhere.
“As long as media agencies and their clients are interested in gathering in one place for one week, the upfronts will continue to happen and be very important to this industry,” said Rick Haskins, executive vice president of marketing and brand strategy at the CW, who returned the network to its traditional Thursday presentation after an experiment with a cocktail party last year. “Going back to the old format just felt like the right thing to do this year.”
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| NEWS 04.30.09 3:14 PM |
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Upfront Update: Who's Doing What During the TV Networks' Big Sales Week
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 | The 2008 Fox upfront party
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash |
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FROM NEW YORK
Cable upfront presentations have been under way since mid-March, but May heralds the arrival of the network presentations, with their heavy delegations of out-of-town media buyers and—when it suits them—some fairly elaborate parties. Upfront Week itself is little more than two weeks off, starting with Fox on Monday, May 18, and concluding Thursday, May 21, with the CW. Although events look to be subdued once again, they’re looking up from 2008.
Last year NBC sent the already W.G.A. strike-addled upfront schedule into a tizzy by abandoning its long-established Monday presentation and opting for a series of meetings in early April. Sort of sticking to its guns, the network is still meeting with buyers early, but not as early as last year. After a small pitch at this year’s Super Bowl, NBC’s big sell takes place next week in its 30 Rockefeller headquarters, with a series of meetings and conference calls on May 4.
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Upfronts, Upfront Week, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW, ESPN, Turner Entertianment, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim |
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| EVENT REPORT 04.16.09 2:38 PM |
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Mediaweek Prepares Readers for 2009 Upfronts With Daylong Conference
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 | Mediaweek editor and associate publisher Michael Burgi and publisher Geri Fiztgerald
Photo: Liberty News Photography |
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FROM NEW YORK
Shrinking network ratings and changing advertising models mean the television upfronts are becoming a different game each year. In an attempt to keep readers up to speed, advertising industry trade Mediaweek held a conference featuring panels of television executives, advertisers, and editors for a crowd of almost 200 on Tuesday at the Time-Life Building.
The Upfront Conference, a combination of previous Mediaweek events Cable Up! and TV Upfront Live, was the magazine's first meeting of this kind in three years. Editors saw a need to revive the template late last year when reports started emerging about the largely disappointing fall 2008 television season. "We wanted to bring this back last fall when we started seeing a real downturn in the marketplace." said Mediaweek editor in chief and associate publisher Michael Burgi. "Reports in the fourth quarter showed the television industry was suffering from similar problems as the rest of the economy. We knew that this upfront marketplace would really be one worth analyzing."
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Mediaweek, Niche Media, Upfront Week, Upfronts |
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| NEWS 04.08.09 11:19 AM |
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In the News: Geographers Map Hotbeds of Cultural Events, Upfronts Happening Earlier
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Geography Lessons for Cultural Events: A recent study of which neighborhoods receive the most buzz breaks down where film, television, music, art, and fashion events are happening in Los Angeles and New York. Professors at Columbia University and the University of Southern California conducted the research by mining pictures from events caught by Getty Images. The results show that even so-called hip neighborhoods like Los Angeles’ Silver Lake or New York’s Lower East Side can’t get out of the shadow of iconic locations such as the Sunset Strip or Times Square. [NYT]
Upfronts Well Under Way: Cable networks are holding upfront presentations further in advance. Telemundo, Discovery Networks, Nickelodeon, and ABC Family have already met with media buyers about the upcoming television year, and many think the channels are following the lead of NBC. The peacock network got a lot of attention last year for downsizing its presentation into a series of meetings and holding them more than a month ahead of the long established Upfront Week for the big four. This year’s upfront will be similarly structured but won’t take place as far in advance, bowing in New York May 4. [Adweek]
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General Motors, Segway, Upfronts, Upfront Week, NBC, 20th Century Fox, Wolverine |
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| NEWS 01.30.09 12:09 PM |
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This Year's Upfront Week Falls Into Place, Starts at Super Bowl
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 | The 2008 Fox upfront party
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash |
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FROM NEW YORK
The economy and the television industry may not be in the most stable position at the start of 2009, but The Hollywood Reporter noted that this year's upfront sales pitches—slated for May 18 through 21 in New York—won't look much different from the pared down, more businesslike presentations seen during the 2008 Upfront Week.
NBC still plans to forgo its old presentation at Radio City Music Hall for intimate "in-front" meetings with advertisers in April, and there definitely won’t be a return of last year’s carnival-like “NBC Experience” at Rockefeller Plaza.
The network actually plans to get an early jump on advertiser wooing at this Sunday’s Super Bowl. "They would never show you programming," a media buyer told The Hollywood Reporter, referring to past sporting events where networks entertained buyers. "I think the NBC plan is smart because they have a larger percentage of clients at the Super Bowl than they would at the upfront."
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| NEWS 07.22.08 5:39 PM |
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NBC Keeping Ahead of Schedule with 2009 "Infront"
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During yesterday’s Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles, NBC confirmed its plans to bring back this year’s “infront” presentation for advertisers in 2009. NBC canceled its usual upfront after the writers strike, instead opting to meet with advertisers in a series of meetings in April.
Departure from tradition seemed to work for the network, according to co-chair of NBC Entertainment Marc Graboff, who spoke about the decision with reporters. NBC's “infront” shifted the conversation with advertisers from traditional commercial space to the growing trend of product placement and brand integration. The events landed NBC exclusive advertising partners like General Motors for new fall shows more than a month before the other networks even met with advertisers.
The network did not announce whether it would stage another “NBC Experience” or anything comparable during the traditional upfront week in 2009. —Michael O'Connell
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Upfront Week, Upfronts, NBC Universal, NBC |
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| FROM THE EDITORS 05.19.08 10:20 AM |
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TV's Rejiggered Upfront Week Was Still a Slew of Open Bars
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 | | Maroon 5 at the CW party |
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FROM NEW YORK
Upfront Week was back—and slightly different—in New York last week, where major television networks pitched their fall lineups to media buyers and advertising execs. Given the writers strike, several networks opted to pare down their presence this year, cutting after-parties and reformatting their presentation process (hello, NBC).
As in years past, Manhattan was abuzz with a deluge of TV stars in town, dozens of open-bar parties, and a whole lot of schmoozing. And where there were holes, others were quick to fill the gap. Once ABC announced it was pulling its after-party this year, for example, the CW jumped in and hosted a presentation and a show by Maroon 5 at the Tent at Lincoln Center, ABC's previous stomping ground. CBS, too, canceled its infamous Tavern on the Green after-party, but the Cartoon Network swooped in with its first-ever Adult Swim party the same night, where Kanye West sang for hundreds of TV execs.
To get an insider's view on how the week had changed—or hadn't—we asked three local media buyers from three agencies to check in with us daily, giving us the lowdown on what they liked, what was cool, and what was lame. Their diaries from the week are here, and all of our Upfront Week coverage is here.
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Upfronts, Upfront Week |
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| NEWS 04.30.08 4:05 PM |
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Scaled-Back TV Upfronts Go On With Fewer Stars, Programming Details
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 | The Ugly Betty cast at last year's ABC upfront
Photo: ABC/Donna Svennevik |
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FROM NEW YORK
The WGA strike put a kink in the TV networks’ plans for a traditional Upfront Week, but all five of the major players are going ahead with some sort of event during the week of May 12. Variety reported yesterday that this year’s festivities will be largely symbolic, with many executives and talent staying behind in Los Angeles to work on the pilots that haven’t yet been produced.
Variety cited industry insiders who think this year’s efforts are “smaller,” “slim pickings,” and “a shame.” This is all a far cry from the upfronts of yore, or even last year, when the cast of Ugly Betty opened the ABC presentation with a musical number.
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Upfronts, Upfront Week, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW, NBC Universal |
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| NEWS 02.15.08 2:23 PM |
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CBS, NBC, Fox, and Others Confirm Upfront Presentations
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FROM NEW YORK
CBS led the charge of upfront-related news yesterday, announcing the network will once again host a presentation for advertisers on May 14 at Carnegie Hall—quelling months of speculation that the major networks would forgo the fancy (and costly) presentations and parties altogether. That said, CBS declined to comment on whether or not it will return to Tavern on the Green for its annual lavish after-party, though Variety reported that Tavern's sales office confirmed the space has been reserved for the afternoon and evening of May 14, adding "It's hard to believe CBS wouldn't offer advertisers some form of food and drink."
Reuters is reporting that because of the WGA strike, development plans for the 2008-2009 television season are much-delayed: "The usefulness of the presentations—where the networks parade out stars or their own executives for skits and dance numbers—[has become] the subject of the sharpest criticism."
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| NEWS 01.24.08 6:03 PM |
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NBC, CBS "Reassessing" Upfronts
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 | Fox's 2007 upfront party
Photo: Mark Yumkas |
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Rumors of the WGA strike affecting the TV industry's upfront sales presentations are climaxing today, with CBS Corporation C.E.O. Leslie Moonves telling Advertising Age, “I think we’re all reassessing.” And those reassessments could lead to drastic changes in the week of parties and sales pitches that send media buyers and reporters fluttering around New York each spring.
Moonves's comments come on the heels of NBC Universal C.E.O. Jeff Zucker’s interview with Reuters on Friday, in which he said, "When people say the upfront, there are two things: one is the dog-and-pony show at Radio City, and the second is the way we sell the inventory. The way that we sell the inventory in an upfront selling period is not going to change. Whether we still need to do the dog-and-pony show is completely under review here, and you can look for an announcement on that from us very soon."
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Upfronts, Upfront Week |
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