NBCUniversal Media LLC will once again open the so-called "broadcast week" of upfront presentations in Manhattan this May.
Comcast Corp.'s content arm will hold its upfront event at Radio City Music Hall on May 13, kicking off the annual sales presentations from major content providers. Telemundo (US), NBCU's Spanish-language business, will host an event that night.
During the upfront, programmers look to sell linear and digital schedules to media agencies and their clients ahead of the upcoming TV season. This year, NBCU expects to see ad-sales benefits from coverage events including the presidential election cycle, the 2024 Summer Olympics and the 50th anniversary of "Saturday Night Live."
The NBCU upfront scheduling news follows Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.'s recent announcement that it will again host its upfront presentation at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on May 15.
Paramount Global will again forgo a big presentation at Carnegie Hall in favor of hosting individual meetings with key clients and agencies.
Last year's protracted upfront negotiations were impacted by general economic uncertainty; a lack of visibility for key categories such as tech, telecom, insurance and retail; and disruption to TV production schedules following the Hollywood writers and actors strikes.
Media Dynamics estimated that the prime-time upfront spending on broadcast TV declined 3% to $9.60 billion for the 2023-24 season. National cable networks' combined take retreated 7% to $9.52 billion. The ascension of streaming resulted in buyers following those eyeballs, with upfront spending on streaming surging 31% to $8.03 billion from $6.13 billion.
Boosted by the streaming allocations, Media Dynamics put upfront prime-time spending for the 2023-24 season at a combined $27.14 billion, up 3%.
Presentation particulars
In-person upfront events returned in 2022 after the pandemic forced companies to limit their upfronts to virtual presentations in 2020 and 2021. The 2023 events lost some shine given the writer's strike, as actors did not cross the picket lines at the 2023 upfront venues.
Last year's NBCU event was also impacted by the departure of long-time ad leader Linda Yaccarino. The May 12 announcement thrust Matt Marshall, who was named interim head of sales, into the closer's role at NBCU's May 15 presentation. Marshall was named chairman of NBCUniversal global advertising and partnerships last August.
What to expect
For the 2024-25 upfront market, more dollars are expected to move to streaming offerings in the wake of continuing subscriber growth from ad-supported streaming services.
Speaking on Comcast's fourth-quarter earnings call on Jan. 25, President Mike Cavanagh said there has been ad market stabilization across categories, including notable improvement for consumer packaged goods and retail. NBCU is not seeing pressure from 2023-24 upfront cancellations, and the scatter market, in which brands secure commercial units closer to a program's air date, has scored double-digit pricing increases of late.
Macroeconomic issues remain in play, however, and NBCU is heading into a period of diminished sports programming. Sports ad sales have remained strong, Cavanagh said, while the overall marketplace has been challenged for more than a year.
Ahead of the upfront, NBCU will offer its fourth annual technology event, One24, on March 20. During the One24 presentation, NBCU will detail its latest offerings on the ad automation, data, measurement and innovation fronts.