The ritual is back.
After two years dramatically altered by Covid, video advertising buyers and sellers will once again mingle in person in New York City during the annual series of upfronts and NewFronts.
The $60 billion-plus TV ad business looks a lot different than it did the last time everyone showed up in person in 2019. Media companies are all now fully invested in streaming, so they are making pitches for both linear and digital properties in tandem. Digital advertising, meanwhile, is booming, giving streaming purveyors a reason for optimism despite all of the uncertainty in the overall ad climate.
The main broadcast upfront week this year runs May 16-19. In addition to the CW, Disney, Fox, CBS parent Paramount Global and NBCUniversal, the week features some new blood. Warner Bros Discovery is convening its first upfront since the $43 billion merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery. Another recently merged entity, TelevisaUnivision, will lay out its broadcast and streaming wares. And YouTube’s Brandcast for the first time shifts out of the NewFronts and into even brighter primetime lights.
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While the broadcast week is seeing a bit of an uptick in activity, ongoing declines in the cable TV sector have brought about a marked decline in the cable upfront space. A few years ago, upwards of a dozen stand-alone events would stretch from February to April. This year, AMC Networks, A+E Networks and Nickelodeon were the only widely distributed players hosting. A+E, given the twists and turns of the Omicron variant, which wiped out a number of industry events at the start of the year, did its presentation fully online.
Below is the full schedule of broadcast and cable upfronts, as well as the IAB NewFronts and podcast upfronts. The NewFronts are mostly in-person, but the podcasts events are all virtual. (Note: all times ET.)
BROADCAST
Monday, May 16
NBCUniversal
10 a.m., Radio City Music Hall
Fox
3 p.m. Skylight on Vesey
Telemundo party
6 p.m., Ziegfeld Ballroom
Tuesday, May 17
TelevisaUnivision
11:30 a.m., Javits Center
Disney
4 p.m., Basketball City at Pier 36
YouTube Brandcast
8 p.m., Imperial Theater
Wednesday, May 18
Warner Bros. Discovery
time TBA, Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden
Paramount Global
4 p.m., Carnegie Hall
Thursday, May 19
The CW
10 a.m., New York City Centre Theatre
NEWFRONTS
Monday, May 2
NBCUniversal/Peacock, 11:30 a.m.
Vizio, 2 p.m.
Tubi, 4:30 p.m.
Amazon, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 3
Samsung, 9 a.m.
Roku, 11 a.m.
Condé Nast, 2 p.m.
Snap, 4:30 p.m.
Meta, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, May 4
Blavity/Revolt Media, 9:50 a.m.
Black Enterprise, 10:25 a.m.
TikTok, 4:30 p.m.
Twitter, 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 5 (all virtual)
A+E Networks, 9:05 a.m.
Nielsen, 9:20 a.m.
Fubo TV, 9:30 a.m.
Meredith, 9:50 a.m.
Comscore, 10:10 a.m.
Crackle Plus, 11:25 a.m.
Nuestra.TV, 11:55 a.m.
Samba TV, 12:10 p.m.
Tastemade, 12:30 p.m.
Estrella Media, 12:45 p.m.
Wave Sports + Entertainment, 1:05 p.m.
Canela Media, 1:20 p.m.
The Recount, 1:55 p.m.
Vevo, 4:30 p.m.
WMX, 7 p.m.
PODCASTS
Tuesday, May 10
Disney, 12:20 p.m.
NPR, 12:45 p.m.
WBUR, 1:10 p.m.
iHeart Media, 1:40 p.m.
Paramount, 2:35 p.m.
APM Studios Kids & Family, 3:10 p.m.
Wednesday, May 11
Sony Music, 12:05 p.m.
Slate, 12:25 p.m.
SXM Media, 1:10 p.m.
Vox Media, 2:05 p.m.
Locked On, 2:25 p.m.
Kast Media, 2:35 p.m.
Thursday, May 12
Wondery, 12:05 p.m.
WNYC Studios, 1 p.m.
TelevisaUnivision, 1:45 p.m.
POD Digital Media, 2:30 p.m.
Cafe Mocha, 2:40 p.m.
They Call Us Bruce, 2:50 p.m.
CABLE
Wednesday, March 2
A+E Networks
Thursday, March 24
Nickelodeon
Monday, March 28
National CineMedia
Wednesday, April 6
AMC Networks
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