TV upfronts look to make in-person return

With this spring’s annual TV ad haggle creeping up, networks are gambling that a return to in-person events will be fully feasible by the time the NewFronts and upfronts roll around in May, with several top players already announcing their intentions to hold live presentations in New York for prospective advertisers. NBCUniversal is dipping its toes into in-person events again nearly two years after the beginning of COVID-19, announcing this week a slate of hybrid live-virtual events that include its upfront presentation and second annual One22 developer conference. Billed as “a series of interconnected events,” the company plans to showcase its advertiser offerings, Linda Yaccarino, NBCUniversal’s chairman of global advertising and partnerships, wrote in a letter published this morning announcing the upcoming event plans. Up first on the calendar is this year’s developer conference, One22, which will be held on March 22 at NBCU’s Studio 8H, located at the company’s 30 Rock headquarters in Manhattan. Held live with a digital component for attendees who wish to tune in virtually, the event will be centered around the company’s One Platform advertiser offering. One Platform, which was introduced in 2020, helps marketers to find audiences and optimize campaigns across linear TV and digital. Don’t miss the latest news. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters here. Less than a month later, the company will hold its first “Content and Community Previews” in both New York and Los Angeles. The events are currently being promoted as “intimate, in-person” gatherings to highlight NBCU’s data science prowess and audience insights, Yaccarino wrote. On May 2, the company will put the spotlight on its Peacock streaming service—which will then be nearing its second birthday—at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s NewFronts, which it joined for the first time last year with a pitch around its then-new Spotlights Ads commercial format. NBCU’s spring events calendar will then wrap with its traditional upfront presentation on the morning of May 16, which will take place in person as well as virtually at Radio City Music Hall. That’ll be followed that same evening by a so-called “Telemundo Celebration” at the Ziegfield Theatre in midtown. Register for Ad Age Next: Health & Wellness at AdAge.com/NextWellness. “All day long, we’ll celebrate the culture-defining content that shapes the world, in both English and Spanish. … And preview what’s coming next, and how you can be a part of it,” Yaccarino continued, highlighting NBCU’s “#OurPartnershipCommitment,” a pledge the company announced last year in a bid to emphasize the need for collaboration in the media and entertainment industries. The concept of partnerships is also expected to underscore its One22 conference. ViacomCBS will also hold its upfront event in-person at Carnegie Hall on May 18, the company confirmed today, adding that the presentation will also be livestreamed for those who wish to attend virtually. “We’re thrilled to return to the iconic stage at Carnegie Hall this year and spotlight the power of ViacomCBS in what will surely be a show-stopping event,” Jo Ann Ross, ViacomCBS’s domestic ad sales president and chief advertising revenue officer, said in a statement. “We look forward to delivering an entertaining and informative presentation that addresses the dynamic needs of our clients, which is absolutely critical as the marketplace continues to transform at a rapid pace,” she continued. NBCU and ViacomCBS are not alone in its push to return to an in-person format for its events this spring. Last week, Fox became one of the first major networks to announce that its 2022 NewFronts and upfront and presentations—slated for May 2 and May 16, respectively—will take place live in New York. Last October, Disney also suggested that its 2022 upfront event would be staged in-person, Variety reported.

TV upfronts look to make in-person return

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