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1. Diesel Wraps International Music Tour With Kid Cudi, Santigold

2. French Winery Celebrates Annual Harvest's Uncorking With Hippie-Themed Luncheon

3. Fund-Raising Scavenger Hunt Pairs Miami Philanthropists With Celebrities

4. Art Basel Preview: New Convention Center Layout, Giant Beach Structure for Audi

5. SIR Miami: Music Rental Company Opens Four-Acre Headquarters to Events

6. New Moon Premiere Beckons 10,000 People and 2 Live Wolves

7. MoMA Gets Suitably Whimsical and Macabre for Tim Burton Tribute

8. 8 Handy Gifts for Meeting Attendees

9. Masked Raconteurs Tell Tales at Moth Ball, and I Have a Blast

10. Poll Results: Readers Opting for iPods Over DJs

FROM NEW YORK

Morgan Loft Penthouse: Temporary Venue for Holiday Season

Sustainable Label Opens SoHo Pop-Up With Community Center Sensibility

Clinique and Teen Vogue Bring Young Women to Beauty Tour, Send Them Online

Masked Raconteurs Tell Tales at Moth Ball, and I Have a Blast

Gap, Banana Republic, American Eagle Open Stores With Musical Performances

MoMA Gets Suitably Whimsical and Macabre for Tim Burton Tribute

3 New Hotel Restaurants for Business Entertaining, Private Groups

Nintendo Launches New Mario Game With Look Back at Franchise History

Scripted Models Play Up Key Notes at Victoria's Secret Fragrance Preview

Ad Age Looks to Boost Conference Interaction With Beer Tasting, Lounge Seating

FROM LOS ANGELES

American Music Awards Begin With Redesigned Arrivals, End With Downsized After-Party

Bouchon: Thomas Keller in Beverly Hills, With Indoor/Outdoor Dining, Private Room

Us Weekly Takes to Voyeur With Scantily Clad Models, Burlesque Feel

6 New Venues for Los Angeles Holiday Parties

New Moon Premiere Beckons 10,000 People and 2 Live Wolves

$4 Million MOCA Gala Breaks Fund-Raising Records

Chrysalis Benefit Cuts Ticket Prices in Half, Draws Same Crowd

MOCA Gala Spawning Arty Online Auction—Including Gehry's Hat for Gaga—Through November 30

Wende Museum Closes Wilshire for Cold War Anniversary Celebration

3 Ideas for Stylish, Eco-Friendly Events

News Archive for Upfronts

TREND SPOTTED 06.18.09 9:00 AM

Low-Cost, Crowd-Pleasing Catering

Mini corn dogs
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash

MORE >>

Public Art Fund, Target, White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, Upfronts, ISES

NEWS 04.08.09 11:19 AM

In the News: Geographers Map Hotbeds of Cultural Events, Upfronts Happening Earlier

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] MORE >>

General Motors, Segway, Upfronts, Upfront Week, NBC, 20th Century Fox, Wolverine

NEWS 01.30.09 12:09 PM

This Year's Upfront Week Falls Into Place, Starts at Super Bowl

The 2008 Fox upfront party
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash

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." MORE >>

Upfront Week, Upfronts, CBS, NBC, The CW, ABC, Super Bowl

NEWS 07.22.08 5:39 PM

NBC Keeping Ahead of Schedule with 2009 "Infront"

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

Upfront Week, Upfronts, NBC Universal, NBC

FROM THE EDITORS 05.19.08 10:20 AM

TV's Rejiggered Upfront Week Was Still a Slew of Open Bars

Maroon 5 at the CW party

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.

Upfronts, Upfront Week

NEWS 02.15.08 2:23 PM

CBS, NBC, Fox, and Others Confirm Upfront Presentations

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." MORE >>

Upfronts, Upfront Week, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW, NBC Universal

NEWS 01.24.08 6:03 PM

NBC, CBS "Reassessing" Upfronts

Fox's 2007 upfront party
Photo: Mark Yumkas

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." MORE >>

Upfronts, Upfront Week

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