Latest in Upfront

NBCUniversal chief Jeff Shell Thursday called Peacock “the opposite of Quibi,” predicted struggling theme parks will break even or better next year and gave some — albeit minimal — color on the upfront. Peacock had 22 million signups, exceeding projections, and drawing on a combination of old, beloved content from the…

Discovery Inc. will see ad sales dip 10% or less in the current third quarter, an improvement from a 14% drop in the previous three months as the U.S. ad market slowly emerges from a COVID slump, said CEO David Zaslav. Internationally, he told investors at the Goldman Sachs media conference to expect strengthening 3Q…

The iconic 30 Rock is returning to NBC for a remotely produced Upfront special event. The hourlong commercial-free special, which will air at 8 p.m. Thursday, July 16, will feature the return of cast members from the original series including Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer and…

Discovery CEO Davis Zaslav joined the chorus of media execs upbeat about the ad market saying it is significantly better than could have been anticipated during the "oh my gosh" phase when COVID-10 hit. "Cancellations in the third quarter are significantly better than we though and every week the scatter market in…

Television advertising is starting to show signs of life as spring moves toward fall, in the view of Rob Tuck, EVP National Sales for the CW. Speaking with reporters on the network’s upfront schedule call, Tuck said network has “seen things certainly settle down” of late after the extreme period of late-March and…

Univision — which has struggled to sell mainstream marketers on Hispanic media in volumes its execs have long felt it deserved — took another swing Tuesday at explaining why in a virtual presentation to the ad community ahead of its upfront on June 16. "Investing in a growing LatinX population is money well spent,"…

Univision will be presenting its 2020-21 programming plans with advertisers and agencies virtually on June 16, the broadcaster said, the latest to announce a day and time for a upfront that replaces a traditional live event originally scheduled in May but sidetracked by the coronavirus pandemic. Univision’s head of ad…

Discovery, Inc.’s U.S. ad revenue dropped 20% in April as the COVID-19 panic took hold but May and June look sbetter. The highly international company’s board will be looking carefully at acquisition opportunities around the world. And CEO David Zaslav put the blame for subscriber erosion on linear TV squarely at the…

The sprawling ViacomCBS network portfolio will have a two-day virtual upfront for advertisers on May 18 and May 19, shifting to the week after the traditional CBS upfront had been scheduled before COVID-19 struck. Viacom’s brands across its Entertainment & Youth and Kids & Family units, plus BET and Pluto TV, will…

AMC Networks anticipates ad revenue will drop by a massive 30% in the current second quarter but that many advertisers pummeled by COVID-19 have opted to shift money to later in the year. Given the trauma and lack of visibility, however, It's pretty clear the traditional launch of the May upfront sseason looks nothing…

AMC Networks, which canceled its March 18 upfront event in New York as the coronavirus started sweeping through the country, has launched an initiative for its advertisers called “Upfront Connect.” The effort intends to help clients of the company’s cable and digital networks connect with sales reps even without the…

As the television business is scrambled by COVID-19, one sales chief thinks it may be a good time to finally upend the May upfronts and move to a year-round model. Most big brands do that already – the historic May upfront/September TV season had been linked to the launch of new car models. Deadline spoke with Peter Ol…