WarnerMedia's First Upfront Opens its New TV Kingdom for Business

Venueamp160 Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden two weeks after Hulu39s own Upfront showcase thereamp160 When attendees reached the long connecting corridor to the main lobby they walked through an inventive sightandsound montage of programming highlights from various WarnerMedia servicesamp160 Editor39s noteamp160 CNN put together a similar and equally effective settingamp160for its own Digital Content NewFront presentationamp160several years agoamp160 At the other end of this tunnel MSG personnel served coffee and breakfast bags then guided attendees into the theater complete with a splitscreen videowall on stage and monitors all aroundPresentationamp160amp160The era of genre identities for TBS TNT and truTV a key trio of WarnerMedia networks is overamp160 That was one of two big messages delivered throughout the morningamp160 The otheramp160 All WarnerMedia brands will be on deck to deliver unique experiences for viewers via the company39s upcoming still with no name directtoconsumer serviceamp160 That includes digital offerings from Rooster Teeth and Crunchyroll and Warner Bros39 syndicated TV seriesamp160 John Stankey WarnerMedia39s Chief Executive Officer declared that there will be an adsupported format of the service giving sponsors an opening to go way beyond the kind of commercials people see nowamp160 Amid dramatic shifts in video consumption technology and business models quotthe need to connect with passionate consumers at scale is not changingquot he saidamp160 quotWe believe in the twosided model of building business on subscription and ad revenue offering consumers the breadth and exceptional value that they demand in their entertainment experience Meanwhile it39s time for a rebirth and innovation in the advertising modelquotamp160 In advance of that launch TBS will go from all comedy to a flexible programming mix while TNT turns from alldrama to a quotblockbuster eventquot centerpiece of original live scripted and unscripted productions plus hit moviesamp160 and truTV expands its role as home to offcenter series explained Kevin Reilly President of all three networks and Chief Creative Officer of the directtoconsumer projectNewsamp160 TBS will start its run of new drama series next year with Snowpiercer the longawaited future Earth thriller initially created for TNTamp160 Besides a plum debut alongside next year39s March Madness coverage Snowpiercer received the greenlight for a second season months ahead of its debut Other new TBS programs for later this year and in 2020 include Chad highschool dramedy of a Persian boy played by formeramp160Saturday Night Live performeramp160Nasim Pedrad and a semiscripted series for Full Frontal correspondent Amy Hoggartamp160 Shaq Life documenting Shaquille O39Neal39s business world journey and weekly All Elite Wrestling hours will come to TNT in the months aheadamp160 And truTV will go animated for the first time with This Functional Family created by comedianamp160Jo Koy and pick up Game Changers another liveaction series effortamp160 Famed animatoramp160Genndy Tartakovskyamp160Samurai Jack will contribute Primal a prehistoricera cinematic toon with no dialogue to Adult Swim39s scheduleHost amp160Stankey came off in affable fashion wellsupported by Reilly who added President of truTV to his responsibilities the day after this event and WarnerMedia Ad Sales President Donna Specialeamp160pictured at topStar Timeamp160 Conan O39Brien kicked off the celebrity parade with a short monologueamp160 Choice quipsamp160 quotJohn Stankey came out and whipped you into a frenzyamp160 He invented the telephoneamp160 Next year this will be the PF Chang39s WarnerMedia Upfrontquotamp160 quotAfter this Upfront because it39s ATampampT there will be a terrible reception The afterparty will have only two barsquotamp160 Also Warner Media will become the subject of a madeforTV movie with John Stankey played by James Tayloramp160 Former NBC News anchorpersonamp160Ann Curryamp160invited attendees to see her new live TNT series Chasing the Cure quotout to democratize medical knowledgequotamp160 Tracy Morgan coming off learning that his TBS comedyamp160The Last OGamp160will be back for season three celebrated onstageamp160 quotThe only thing that could ever destroy me is marrying a Kardashianquot he musedamp160 Anderson Cooper Erin Burnett and other CNN newscasters delivered a commitment to truthful journalism while Snowpiercer costar Daveed Diggs closed out the event with a quotthis point in my lifequot rap interrupted by Claws costar Niecy Nash for a serenade from Shaqamp160 Mr S not only obliged with a brief turn of quotI39ve Had the Time of My Lifequot he carried Nash off the stageamp160 Trust me you had to be there for this momentData Insightsamp160 Four of WarnerMedia39s linear networks Adult Swim TBS TNT and truTV collectively drawamp160239 million viewers each month adding up to 13 billion hours of engagementamp160 The entire lineup of WM brands draws more than 12 billion social media followersInnovative Opportunitiesamp160amp160Participation in Community the curated marketplace announced the day before by Xandr ATampampT39s advanced advertisinganalytics unitCuisineamp160 A breakfast bag consisting of chocolate croissant fruit cocktail and orange juice inside MSG and after the presentation trail mix bars smoothies and juices from a truck parked outside on 7th AveKey Takeawayamp160 The upcoming directtoconsumer service will be home base for a variety of new advertising options as well as a variety of original content displayed exclusively there or initially there before a second window on another WarnerMedia propertyPictured in photo aboveamp160amp160Daveed Diggs of TBS39 quotSnowpiercerquot Gerhard Zeiler Chief Revenue Officer WarnerMedia Bob Greenblatt Chairman WarnerMedia Entertainment and DirecttoConsumer Shaquille O39Neal John Stankey CEO WarnerMedia Jennifer Connelly of quotSnowpiercerquot Kevin Reilly President TBSTNT and Chief Creative Officer WarnerMedia DirecttoConsumer Don Lemon of quotCNN Tonight with Don Lemonquot Nasim Pedrad of truTV39s quotChadquotamp160Jeff Zucker Chairman WarnerMedia News and Sports and President CNN Worldwide Donna Speciale President WarnerMedia Ad Sales and Amy Sedaris of TBS39 quotAt Home with Amy SedarisquotClick the social buttons above or below to share this story 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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WarnerMedia's First Upfront Opens its New TV Kingdom for Business

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We Are the Outliers - By Jack Myers

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