What I Think About the CBS, CW, Fox, NBCU and Disney Upfronts

Unlike the Upfront Weeks of old most of the people attending these events today already know what they are going to see and hearamp160 It is all available on social media beforehand sometimes days or weeks in advanceamp160 Clips for new shows go instantly viral if someone hasnamp8217t seen them before an event he or she can simply go online or for that matter watch network television that very night and see them all during commercial breaksMeanwhile sales executives increasingly share vital information with advertisers in private meetings whether in person or via various technologiesamp160 Very few of them are truly in the dark when the lights go down and a presentation beginsSo why continue with a costly and timeconsuming tradition that no longer serves as much of a purpose as it once didamp160 To view it through the lens of basic common sense it is likely an effort to stand out on the advertising communityamp8217s radar given the massive competition for ad dollars now and throughout the months to comeamp160 To stay away is to become a second thoughtamp160 The bright lights dazzling video screens and celebrity filled stages of Radio City Music Hall the Beacon Theater David Geffen Hall Carnegie Hall and the New York City Center where NBC Fox ABC CBS and The CW staged their respective events canamp8217t help but make a lasting impression one that will be remembered when amp8220the real work beginsamp8221In the best presentations there is also a conciseness and clarity to the messaging that may be lost if not formalized for industry consumptionamp160 Among last weekamp8217s events each one impressive in its own way I would say that the production by NBC was the most successful at that given the number of networks and platforms that were included therein followed by CBS and The CW who truly know how to embed a new schedule and its components in the minds of event attendeesAt the Telemundo party last Monday night amp8211 which included a miniconcert rather than a twosongsandout appearance by Pitbull complete with dancing girls and dynamic staging a young colleague of mine who had never before attended an Upfront event looked out at the throng of revelers that packed the cavernous Hammerstein Ballroom and said amp8220All these people must be pretty important for a network to throw a party like this oneamp8221I explained that in the eyes of the industry some of them were more important than others but that most of them likely worked very hard all year round at agencies and elsewhere and made positive impacts on Telemundoamp8217s growth and successamp8220So this is like a big thank you for the communityamp8221 my colleague askedamp160 His question made senseamp160 The massive events of Upfront Week may not do as much to educate as they once did but it surely doesnamp8217t hurt for networks to take a few hours once a year to thank the hundreds of people responsible for their successIs that reason enough to continue this traditionamp160 Thatamp8217s up to the networks to decideAnd now on to quick assessments of last weekamp8217s events at least three of which should no longer be categorized as amp8220broadcastamp8221 since they encompass many cable and streaming services as wellamp160 Indeed news about current and upcoming streaming services especially Hulu Disney and NBCamp8217s upcoming platform dominated the weekNBCUNBCU which for better or worse had jolted people a couple years back when it merged its many cable networks into its broadcast presentation started Upfront Week 2019 in grand style at Radio City Music Hallamp160 Chairman Advertising and Partnerships Linda Yaccarino wasnamp8217t kidding at the beginning when she declared that it would be amp8220the biggest kickoff to Upfront Week that weamp8217ve ever hadamp8221amp160 What followed was clear messaging about how NBCU does business plans for its upcoming streaming service a grand parade of stars and much genuine entertainmentThe show opened with a montage of clips from unforgettable commercials of the distant and notsodistant past reminding us all that ads can be as memorable and enjoyable as the programming they supportamp160 At various times throughout the presentation Jimmy Fallon Seth Meyers cast members from Saturday Night Live stars of new and returning programs on all NBCU platforms thirteen female Olympic and Paralympic gold medal winners and several NBC News personalities appeared on stageamp160 Mariska Hargitay was there to acknowledge that as of next season Law and Order SVU will be the longestrunning primetime drama in network historyamp160 The standouts were a presentation for Telemundo including three songs by superstar Luis Fonsi and an appearance by Kate del Castillo star of La Reina del Sur currently one of the highest rated series on all of televisionamp8220That is what you call a showamp8221 Yaccarino declared when she returned to close the presentation first with her own remarks and then by introducing the four stars of The Voice amp8211 Adam Levine Blake Shelton Kelly Clarkson and John Legend amp8212amp160who performed solo and together in a miniconcert that brought NBCU to an exciting closeSide noteamp160 After the Radio City event NBC hosted a terrific pressonly lunch for journalists high atop 30 Rock that offered an invaluable opportunity for all of us to talk with the networkamp8217s top executivesFoxThank goodness for Charlie Collier pictured aboveamp160 The new CEO of Fox Entertainment may be the most energetic top executive at any network right nowamp160 His boundless enthusiasm literally filled the Beacon Theater stage at Foxamp8217 Upfront presentation even when little else didamp160 The event started off with an empty stage area even the video screens were off providing the foundation for Foxamp8217s messageamp160 It would slowly come to bright life one pieceamp160at a timeamp160amp160amp8220On this day in this moment we start a whole new storyamp8221 Collier declared standing in a dramatic spotlightamp160 After more than 30 years the network is once again in startup mode he told the crowd which included Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch though it certainly isnamp8217t starting from nothing even if the staging suggested otherwiseamp160 It has plenty of substantial building blocks already in placeSadly the presentation that followed wasnamp8217t especially engaging with too much time devoted to sports including five Fox College Football personalities who would not get off the stage and introductions to new scripted shows that ran the gamut from OMG to WTFamp160 At least there were some interesting stars on hand including the judges from smashhit The Masked Singer Broadway Joe Namath Rob Lowe John Slattery Justin Timberlake executive producer of new game show Spin the Wheel and the original cast of Beverly Hills 90210 minus Shannen Doherty amp8211 and so it beginsamp160 Canamp8217t wait to see Slattery in the new series neXt a dramaamp160more like a thriller about artificial intelligence gone rogueDespite the terrible weather Foxamp8217s annual tented afterparty at the Wollman Rink in Central Park proved once again that the right Upfront party really can make an impactamp160 There were stars and executives everywhereamp160 As he did last year Beat Shazam host Jamie Foxx pictured above center eventually commandeered the proceedings bringing many female guests up on stage to dance like nobody was watching and lobbing Fbombs into the crowd like a proamp160 I think that Fox should consider having this Foxx host itsamp160presentation at the Beacon next year though his energy when combined with Collieramp8217s may be too much for that theater to containDisneyDonamp8217t call it the ABC Upfront amp8211 call it the Disney Experienceamp160 It opened with a picture of Walt Disney himself on the giant screen at the front of Lincoln Centeramp8217s David Geffen Hall and the collection of networks included in the presentation was referred to by at least one major Disney executive as amp8220Disneyamp8217s House of Brandsamp8221amp160 Or as Jimmy Kimmel called it during his annual appearance amp8220a clusterfck of networksamp8221 that will amp8220do anything to get your dollarsamp8221Disney put a lot into its presentation assembling executives and talent from ABC ABC News ESPN Freeform and the newly acquired FX and National Geographic to promote their products all in one big showamp160 Iamp8217m still not sure what to make of it perhaps because Iamp8217m used to seeing FX and Nat Geo as giant entities on their own that were always the stars of their own events but here were reduced to amp8220podsamp8221 of sorts which was somehow very disturbingamp160 I feel the same way about ESPN and Freeform which are just too big to be compartmentalized in this manneramp160 But they are and likely will be for a very long timeamp160 Maybe Iamp8217ll get used to this as I have to NBCUamp8217s group approachamp160 I understand this is the way television networks or should I say content platforms are sold but it is not necessarily the way their product is consumed or processed by the press or the public at largeIt also seemed to me that ABC the network got a bit lost in the massive information output that day which included the breaking news that Disney had assumed full control of Hulu keeping with the weekamp8217s collective assertion that the future is all about streamingamp160 The only thing that stood out to me other than Kimmel who once again carpetbombed his employers and their competitors with shockingly disrespectful but hilarious jokes was the fond farewell to Modern Family which is headed into its 11th and final seasonamp160 Surrounded by cast members on stage series cocreator Steve Levitan recalled amp8220Ten years and four network presidents ago back when streaming was something you did in the bathroom we got a call telling us ABC was going to run the full pilot at the Upfrontamp160 We were so nervous we were streaming in our pantsamp8221The event ended with a few songs by Gen X icon John Mayer which thrilled the crowd at Lincoln Centeramp8217s David Geffen Hall amp8211 even the Gen Zersamp160Side noteamp160 Several hours before its presentation Disney assembled television journalists for a separate event at Lincoln Centeramp8217s Alice Tully Hall that proved to be extremely valuable amp8211 a press conference or series of them with Disney Ad Sales President Rita Ferro and the presidents of ESPN Freeform FX National Geographic and ABC Entertainmentamp160 It helped to delineate and define each platformamp8217s message and identity in the mix in advance of the afternoon event to comeamp160 As with the presentation it felt like something of a jumble amp8211 they may all be better served via separate small events next year amp8211 but it was a welcome effort by Disneyamp8217s press team to help guide the press through this period of perpetual changeCBSAs always CBS stood out by virtue of staging the most traditional Upfront event of the week and doing so with great class and styleamp160 While NBC and ABC push forward with new approaches to their presentations showing equal love for all their children to varying degrees of success CBS holds rock steady with its primary focus on new series making their debut next season on the mothership and the details of its fall scheduleamp160 CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl and Executive Vice President Program Planning and Scheduling Noriko Kelley are shown above reviewing detailsamp160 I exited knowing what I was talking about when asked about CBS something I canamp8217t necessarily say about the othersamp160 The presentation also included relevant information about other properties in CBS Corpamp8217s massive portfolio especially CBS All Accessamp160 I cannot wait for Star Trek PicardEven without former CBS Corp Chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves dominating the proceedings on the Carnegie Hall stage or a showstopping performance by a famous entertainer or Broadway cast CBS made great use of its stars especially Stephen Colbert James Corden and Cedric the Entertainer in putting its messages and strategies out thereamp160 The timely fond farewell to the cast of The Big Bang Theory was another nice touchamp160amp160Also CBS is on to something with its marketing campaign featuring different animated eyes and familiar voices from its past and present programsamp160 It opened the presentation with an expanded version of its terrific Super Bowl ad which stood out in a crowded field and efficiently encapsulated the legendary and enduring power of broadcast televisionSide noteamp160 In terms of networking opportunities CBSamp8217 annual postpresentation party which fills three floors at the Plaza Hotel remains the one to beat with plenty of access to executives and talent a lot of room to move around and some of the best food of the weekThe CWUpfront Week came to a close with yet another perfect presentation from The CW which always keeps its events brief regardless of how much it has to say and doamp160 In less than an hour we heard all about the networkamp8217s sales and marketing strategies and prosocial campaigns its longestablished success with its free adsupported streaming platform which noted CW President Mark Pedowitz amp8220created a blueprint for the rest of the industryamp8221 and several new series that will join its schedule next season the most excitingly received being Batwoman and the Riverdale spinoff Katy KeeneThere was also a fond farewell to Supernatural entering its 16th and final season amp160Itamp8217s the last remnant from the longdeparted The WBamp160 Oh and the redhotagain Jonas Brothers pictured at top opened the show with two songs from their new albumamp160 If anyone takes exception to the fact that the average age of Upfront attendees is hovering somewhere around 30 the screams and squeals from the young women and a few of the young men in the New York City Center when Joe Nick and Kevin took the stage should clarify mattersAlso from Upfront WeekUnivision quotReaches for the Heartquot During 201920 Upfrontsamp160with video by Juan AyalaWarnerMedia39s First Upfront Opens its New TV Kingdom for Business by Simon ApplebaumUpfront 2019amp160 It Better Be a Hell of a Show by Jeff MinskyAnd for all of our 2019 Upfronts and Digital Content NewFronts coverage click hereClick the social buttons above or below 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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What I Think About the CBS, CW, Fox, NBCU and Disney Upfronts

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Ed Martin

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