What You Might Have Missed From the 2025 Upfront Season

On May 13, an audience of ad buyers gathered at Madison Square Garden for the WBD Upfront, which was presented in a traditional format with no comedy routines or musical performances.

The event included perhaps the most viral news from the Upfronts season—that the company would be rebranding its streaming service HBO Max—two years after it ditched the HBO part of the name and became Max. “I know you’re all shocked, but the good news is I have a drawer full of stationery from the last time around,” HBO and Max content chief Casey Bloys joked during the announcement.

On May 13, Disney unveiled an immersive Upfront presentation at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center with a creative technical build-out that included everything from kinetic lighting to LED installations to floral engineering. LED walls opened like theater curtains to reveal the stage, which was lowered this year for intimacy and flow reasons. The stage itself was outlined in miles of flexible neon LED tubing. This year's presentation opened with a marching band performance made up of musicians from Jackson State and Delaware State universities plus Mickey Mouse as drum major.

Seven massive custom chandeliers—one stretching 30 feet wide—hovered above a fully programmable lightscape of 600 kinetic fixtures, each on its own motorized hoist, synced with another 600 lights that wrapped around the space.

The event flowed across floors, from presentation to after-party, where attendees entered through 10-foot-long, motion-triggered LED tunnels.

Disney-inspired topiaries were shipped from Walt Disney World to Javits for the event.

On May 5, during the Google NewFront, the tech company touted the new AI-powered capabilities of its Display & Video 360 platform, which helps advertisers manage and optimize their digital ad campaigns. Event producers Good Sense & Company designed the stage, which was fabricated by SFDS, for the event at Pier 57 in New York.

Google execs were joined onstage by brand partners from YouTube, NBCUniversal, Discover Card, Costco, and Clorox to discuss the connection between Connected TV (CTV) and commerce.

On May 8, the YouTube Newfront also took place at Pier 57, marking Google’s second pitch to advertisers in a week’s time. Lifestyle creator Ashley Alexander, Julian Shapiro-Barnum of Recess Therapy, and Alisha Marie and Remi Cruz, co-hosts of the podcast Pretty Basic, were among those brought onstage to talk about how they use the platform’s various content formats.

The event wrapped up with a surprise dance performance that looked back at two decades of dance videos on YouTube. Event design, screen content, production, and broadcast were handled by Good Sense & Company.

Held at Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall on May 14, popular creator Brittany Broski hosted the 20th anniversary-themed YouTube Brandcast.

A massive outdoor tent hosted a red-carpet preshow, live second stage broadcast segments, and an after-party. The Brandcast's main stage and screen content were designed by DE-YAN and produced by Good Sense & Company, which also designed and produced the tent environments.

The event culminated with a 20-minute set from Lady Gaga. Watch this clip posted by Variety’s Clayton Davis of the performance.

Netflix's third Upfront presentation took place at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in Manhattan, where those in attendance saw a new look of Wednesday season two.

Netflix announced its second year of NFL games on Christmas Day. League Commissioner Roger Goodell made an appearance in a vinyl Santa suit to reveal this year’s matchups: the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Commanders followed by the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings.

The event ended with a live performance from the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders to AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” to promote the show America’s Sweethearts: The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

On May 13, TelevisaUnivision, the world’s leading Spanish-language media company, took the stage at Hall de Lumières in downtown Manhattan where executives introduced YA Fest, a new music festival that will take place live from three major cities in September 2026. The multicity celebration will air across TelevisaUnivision’s platforms.

The presentation opened with a performance by Prince Royce.

Adobe Express toured the New York City streets with its Mobile Design Studio during Upfronts. The three-panel glass truck drove to all the hot spots, from Rock Center to Javits Center to Madison Square Garden. The activation was designed to illustrate the flexibility and usability of the app. It included designers creating brand kits and ads live using Adobe Express, and visitors were able to create custom stickers in the app that were printed and offered as a takeaway. Scott Galloway and Ed Elson, co-hosts of the Prof G Podcast, stopped by to compete head-to-head, creating content with Adobe Express.

"Activating at the Upfronts gave us a strategic opportunity to connect with three key audiences—marketers, business decision-makers, and everyday consumers—during one of NYC’s most high-profile events for brands," said Parimal Deshpane, marketing executive for Adobe Express and Creative Cloud. "It was an incredible opportunity to demonstrate how when that creative spark hits, Adobe Express can help you translate inspiration into meaningful content and engagement."