Latest in TV Upfront

Peter Olsen, president of ad sales, sees a blended future for the ad-supported TV business, but one in which Nielsen will continue to play a central role. “Nielsen is still going to be the backbone of everything, as imperfect as it may be,” the exec predicted in an interview with Deadline ahead of the company’s…

Following the same path of other broadcast networks, the CW plans to resume its annual in-person upfront event in May. The network’s pitch to media buyers will be held on the morning of Thursday, May 19, in its usual slot at the end of the week of presentations and parties. The venue will once again be the New York…

Fox Corp. has completed its upfront sales process, with CPM gains across its linear and digital portfolio in the range of 20%, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. No individual network was broken out from the overall set of platforms, meaning recently acquired streaming service Tubi is combined with…

The onset of Covid-19 in March 2020, at the traditional leading edge of TV upfront season, forced an epic scramble for TV networks and advertisers. The upfronts ended up happening, but in fractured, virtual form. ViacomCBS, just months after merging, decided to stage a two-part pitch, showcasing Viacom’s networks and…

Discovery, a day after announcing a landmark, $43 billion merger with AT&T’s WarnerMedia, delivered its first upfront presentation in two years to tout 2021-22 programming. The virtual presentation promises a record investment in content for the company’s linear and digital outlets, including recently launched…

Although it had been in the works for a while, today’s virtual upfront presentation by Fox Sports packed uncanny punch after Thursday’s big mask news. The Centers for Disease Control dramatically shifted its guidance, saying those vaccinated against Covid-19 could ditch their masks in most situations. Fox’s 45-minute…

Ahead of its virtual upfront presentation on Monday, NBCUniversal has unveiled a set of advertising innovations ranging from new formats to augmented-reality shopping. Interactivity is the central objective of the various rollouts, which are housed on the company’s One Platform. The new offerings include e-commerce…

Disney has debuted a suite of tools and offerings for advertisers designed to unify its linear networks and streaming platforms into a streamlined home for sponsored messages. At a tech showcase for media buyers, an online prelude to the traditional mid-May upfront, executives emphasized the versatility of Disney…

With time ticking down toward the planned rollout of an ad-supported tier of HBO Max during the second quarter, key details like pricing, viewer experience and which programming will carry ads still remain under wraps. Even so, it is increasingly clear that kids and family programming is likely to be a key element in…

In a move its head of sales calls a “radical” departure from the long-held orthodoxy of catering to youth, A+E Networks has decided to embrace TV viewers 55 and older. The owner of networks like A&E, History and Lifetime says it will transact with advertisers on a total-audience basis, departing from the industry’s…

The myriad complications and stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic have created a television upfront season unlike any in memory. In a typical spring and early summer, deals close for about one-third of the annual $70 billion in total TV ads. This year, most bets are off, at least for the near term. Ad spending is in free…

The 2020 TV upfront season was already going to be a different one for ViacomCBS given the company has recently merged. Then came COVID-19. “The one and only time we were together was last December when we rang the bell” at the stock exchange, ad sales chief Jo Ann Ross tells Deadline. As soon as the pandemic started…