Fall TV season heats up and Nike reports earnings: The Week Ahead

Sept. 20 The Advertising Research Foundation holds its virtual AudienceXScience conference, which takes on added interest given the tumult in TV measurement in the wake of the Media Rating Council suspending Nielsen’s TV ratings accreditation and moves by NBCUniversal and others to solicit alternative measures. Presenters during the three-day conference include Procter & Gamble Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard and key executives from Nielsen, NBCU, ViacomCBS, agencies Spark Foundry, Media Hub and Magna Global, and a host of rival measurement firms, including Comscore and VideoAmp. Subscribe to Ad Age now for the latest industry news and analysis. The fall TV season (for traditional, linear broadcast networks, at least) semi-officially kicks off tonight with three new primetime shows: police procedural spin-off “NCIS: Hawaii” on CBS, musical dramedy “The Big Leap” on Fox and existential drama “Ordinary Joe” on NBC. Discord Chief Marketing Officer Tesa Aragones joins Ad Age Remotely today at 12:15 p.m. ET to talk about how the company’s private servers are becoming a communication channel for top brands. Discord just raised $500 million at a $15 billion valuation, and it is starting to talk more with marketers about its services; now the in-demand CMO will talk about how it’s all coming together. Sept. 21 The Association of National Advertisers presents its In-House Excellence Awards in a virtual event format. The awards honor those brands that had the best in-house marketing efforts during 2020. More fall premieres to sample in primetime tonight: crime drama spin-off "FBI: International” on CBS and family drama “Our Kind of People” on Fox. Salesforce’s Dreamforce global conference starts today and runs through Friday. The annual cloud symposium will be held virtually, and it will be accessible through Salesforce+, a streaming app launched by the marketing technology giant this summer. Celebrity guests include Jason Sudeikis and Will Smith. Sept. 22 The Atlantic hosts a virtual festival running today through Sept. 24 and from Sept. 27-30. Speakers—including Jon Banner, president of PepsiCo Foundation and executive VP, global communications at PepsiCo, and Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer—will discuss ideas for building a better future. Tonight in primetime, Fox serves up a new singing-avatar reality competition (sure, why not?) called “Alter Ego,” while ABC gives us “The Conners” fourth-season premiere performed live twice (for Eastern/Central and Mountain/Pacific audiences) along with a reboot of “The Wonder Years” with Don Cheadle as the narrator. Sept. 23 Nike reports first-quarter earnings. The sportswear giant saw record North American revenue in its fourth quarter, reported in June. Yet, like many retailers, Nike is now dealing with supply chain issues that could put a damper on sales, experts say. Sept. 24 Disney teamed up with Airbnb to offer a stay at a Winnie the Pooh-inspired house in England’s Ashdown Forest. The so-called Bearbnb is available to rent for 95 pounds on Sept. 24 or Sept. 25. It is hosted by Winne the Pooh illustrator Kim Raymond. Sept. 25-26 On Sunday, the 74th annual Tony Awards ceremony streams on Paramount+ starting at 7 p.m. ET. Over on CBS, where the Tonys used to air, at 9 p.m. ET you can catch a “Broadway’s Back!” special, which will include key chunks of the Tonys: the presentation of the best play, best musical and best revival awards.

Fall TV season heats up and Nike reports earnings: The Week Ahead

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