Bloomberg Media's first NewFronts presentation wrapped up on Monday afternoon with a brief speech from the company's founder, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who covered a variety of topics in a handful of minutes.
"We'd be honored to have your business," he told the many advertisers and ad buyers in the room.
He made a joke at the expense of adland. "It's a little early for drinks," he said in the minutes before the presentation adjourned for cocktails. Then he corrected himself: "Not in the 'Mad Men' community." (People laughed.)
He praised Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith, calling him one of the "smartest and most innovative people in media."
And he took a swipe at The New York Times, saying the newspaper has trouble attracting subscribers. Bloomberg, he countered, has 325,000 subscribers who pay $22,000 a year. Of course, those subscribers are paying for the Bloomberg terminal and the financial information it offers, not for Bloomberg Media content, which is free online.