Fox Sets TV Upfronts Return With Live, In-Person Event

Last year, Fox’s in-person Upfront event at the Skylight venue in New York surprised ad buyers with a largely pre-recorded video led by then-boss Charlie Collier.

This year, the network is returning to the Upfronts, but is promising a new format, new venue and a live stage presentation.

The broadcaster, which is now led by Fox Entertainment CEO Rob Wade, will hold its event on Monday May 15 at the Manhattan Center.

It will join the likes of NBCUniversal, which is also holding its event on May 15, Disney, which is holding its event on Tuesday May 16, and newcomer Netflix, which is getting in on the action after it entered the ad business for the first time on Wednesday May 17, alongside Warner Bros. Discovery. It will not, however, be joined by CBS, whose parent company Paramount is plotting a separate plan.

Fox’s event, coming off the back of a Super Bowl ratings boom, will cover its portfolio of content across entertainment, sports, news and its streaming platforms, likely including Tubi.

However, it will be interesting to see whether Fox launches a fall schedule, something that it did not do ahead of or during its last Upfront. Its programming executives were also coming down to the wire on some of its major renewal decisions such as 9-1-1 and The Resident.

Michael Thorn, President of Scripted Programming at Fox, told Deadline recently that he will start working on what the fall schedule looks like over the next month. It has already renewed The Cleaning Lady for a third season and will look to see how its comedies such as recently launched Animal Control and dramas Accused and Alert are performing before figuring out its needs.

On the entertainment side, it is largely off-cycle with its development, continuing with its script-to-series model rather than producing pilots.

“The Upfronts are important. We have incredible advertising partnerships. But that doesn’t mean we have to order everything before the Upfront,” he said.

“In a time of such complexity, strength, strategic focus and stability are the foundational elements that lead to success. Fox’s advantage is our ability to focus on what matters most – our advertising partners – and delivering for them, and our viewers, the best content across the industry’s leading Sports, Entertainment, News and Streaming platforms,” said Marianne Gambelli, President of Advertising Sales, Fox. “For this year’s Upfront, we are hosting an in-person event – complete with a new venue and format – to connect with our clients in the most meaningful way, by showcasing the value of Fox’s best-in-class portfolio and its ability to innovate and engage with a wide array of consumers.”