How NBCU, Fox, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount and The CW Fared During Upfront Week

That39s all over now with one exception The CW proved that sometimes the established ways are still the best ending Upfront Week with the kind of informative and engaging presentation that educated its audience of advertising professionals and media journalists while also entertaining them It was brief and buzzy and it served as an impactful prelaunch of its network39s 202223 season More on that belowThe other big presentations of Upfront Week NBCUniversal Fox Disney Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount were something else entirely Even though they all emphasized storytelling they didn39t so much have stories to tell as stories to show The historic foundation of Upfront Week events the unveiling of new product and the planned rollout of same was all but lost in these corporate mega events which served mostly as reminders about their platforms and the many businesses each of them had to offerThat39s fine amp8230 in the new world order it39s all about adtech and streaming and branding and such For an expanded take on this read Gabe Greenberg39s excellent analysis TV Takes a Back Seat to adtech and CTV at the 2022 Upfronts But as I was watching this year39s events after more than 30 years of attending almost every Upfront Week presentation in person as well as the virtual showcases of 2021 I couldn39t help but think that anyone in the collective audience who didn39t already have knowledge of what was being talked about needs to step up their game Because there really wasn39t much that was new It was as if each company was offering a refresher course in all the things that it does with its everexpanding portfolio of assets this year featuring a stronger than usual emphasis on theatrical movie releases which enrich brands even as they enhance streaming servicesWas it all too much Maybe These information overloads were often dizzying in their depth and breadth As one veteran Upfront Week observer texted to me while we watched from the comfort of our home offices quotSome companies have gotten too friggin39 bigquot TruthWhile the content was largely impressive and the execution often technically dazzling the redundant messaging quotWe39re the biggest and the bestquot often couldn39t get out of its own way Were the events helpful or not That39s up to each of us to decideAs I always point out in my Upfront Week reports everyone involved in all the presentations deserves enormous credit for putting them together and pulling them off It is a titanic amount of work even more so today when they include virtual options meaning each event must simultaneously engage hundreds or thousands of people in person while holding the attention of even more people watching on various screensAnd speaking of that the production values of the 2022 virtual presentations were by any standard deluxe Disney was especially dynamic though that came as no surprise as the company was also celebrating its 100th birthday It39s had a lot of time to practice I can39t speak to the experience of attending them in person for that check out the reports from my colleague Simon Applebaum in our Upfronts and NewFronts archive but watching them remotely was a distinct pleasure They in fact felt to me as though they were produced primarily for streaming Being equally effective in person and via video feed is certainly a challenge one they all met with terrific resultsAnd now here are brief hindsight reflections on each of them in order of presentationNBCUniversal opened the week with its usual Radio City spectacular which was as reassuring as it was rewarding Even if the rest of the world is one big mess Upfront Week as it has always been known was back and starting off on the right foot in the grandest venue of all There were plenty of onstage appearances by key executives from Jeff Shell to Susan Rovner to Linda Yaccarino and celebrities from all corners of the NBCU empire especially Bravo The show opened with a performance by Kelly Clarkson of NBC properties The Voice The Kelly Clarkson Show and American Song Contest pictured below and closed with Miley Cyrus NBCU39s new New Year39s Eve star singing her hit quotWrecking Ballquot and Madonna39s hit quotLike a Prayerquot Why the latter Who can say Seth Meyers put it all in perspective quotRadio City Music Hallquot he raved during his usual routine quotWhat a historic room to be able to tell people you caught COVID inquot Perhaps even more on point quotWe39ve had to be agile and forwardfacing amp8230 and yet this is still how we39re doing the UpfrontsquotFox had a tough act to follow amp8230 and presenting most of their big show in prerecorded videos may have hurt more than it helped As Jimmy Kimmel said to the audience during the Disney event quotFox tricked you into taking an Uber to watch a tapequot But its presentation was fastpaced clutterfree and extremely informative Tellingly Fox didn39t see fit to include details of its fall schedule but as I said at the top this is a whole new ball game and the very idea of having to watch a show at the time it is traditionally scheduled now seems positively quaint so maybe the absence of a schedule wasn39t as noticeable to younger attendees who for better or worse watch what they want when they want As I watched Fox39s prerecoded videos I couldn39t help but wonder if inperson Upfront events were even needed anymore They will probably migrate to the Metaverse before too long and I39m betting Fox gets there firstDisney did such an amazing job with the virtual component of its event that I didn39t for a minute mind not being there in person In fact with all those crisp close ups of and clear concise messages from company executives personalities and entertainers I think I got more out of it watching at home You know that moment during Upfront Week presentations when all you want to do is get out of whatever venue you are in get a little fresh air and then relax with a coffee or cocktail only to realize there is another hour to go Doesn39t happen at home Just saying As with NBCU and Paramount the broadcast network at the center of it all seemed a little lost amid the companywide razzledazzle but that was to be expected In his annual routine Jimmy Kimmel said of broadcast television quotWe39re a fax machine five years after they invented emailquot Whatever it is that inperson Upfront Week events are becoming this one left no doubt that Disney will be out ahead of the pack That39s Peter Rice President Disney General Entertainment and the stars of Hulu39s Only Murders in the Building Steve Martin Martin Short and Selena Gomez pictured at topWarner Bros Discovery had no broadcast entity at its center just more cable networks than anyone can count so soon after the megamerger of Warner Media and Discovery As it joyously jumped about from CNN to HBO to HGTV to discovery to Food Network to TNT to Magnolia it wasn39t difficult to follow but it was tough to process Is WBD greater than the sum of its parts I don39t know But most of those parts are so powerful they don39t need to be grouped together to make an impact Regardless there was a sense of history in the making throughout and having Jennifer Hudson on hand as host and entertainer was a touch of genius Her rousing rendition of quotRespectquot complete with audience participation was simply sensationalCredit where it39s due Paramount gave us an Upfront Week presentation that was significantly better than last year39s effort But it wasn39t Best in Class like the many unforgettable Upfront Week events that CBS39 sales marketing and publicity teams used to produce in the same venue the magnificent Carnegie Hall Maybe you had to be there As noted I wasn39t It was a clever idea to promise a fastmoving show that would be over in about one hour with the iconic stopwatch from 60 Minutes periodically appearing on screen to move things along The production number by cast members of the freshman hit Ghosts my pick for the top show of 2021 was great fun photo above There was no shortage of big stars on stage including Sylvester Stallone Tim McGraw Faith Hill Jessica Chastain Kevin Costner Michael Shannon Patrick Stewart Wayne Brady Stephen Colbert Drew Barrymore and James Corden And the new CBS fall schedule was prominently showcased But I was somewhat underwhelmed by it all Still the week was all about streaming and I will admit that as of late I am watching adsupported Paramount more than any of the others so something good is happening thereAs I noted up top The CW really came through at the end Comparing it to the others may not be fair as it was focused on a single entity rather than a massive mix of platforms and services But charging up attendees at home and inperson at the end of a long week is no small achievement The CW opened with what turned out to be the Performance of the Week the legendary Stevie Wonder performing quotSuperstitionquot and segued into a parade of popular young stars introducing new and returning shows Having former Supernatural stars Jared Padalecki Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins reunited on stage promoting four new shows between them and comically pitching a few more to CW Chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz made the morning memorable all on its own When the event was over I experienced something I hadn39t felt all week amp8230 the oncefamiliar feeling that I couldn39t wait to sample a network39s new shows and dive right into the television season to come It was great ending to yet another whirlwind weekClick 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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How NBCU, Fox, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount and The CW Fared During Upfront Week

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