Media giants relied on sports last 12 months to woo advertisers during Upfronts meeting week, at a time when a Hollywood strike and cost-cutting hurt their content and star power.
Even though stars were back on stage this 12 months after the strikes ended, the presentations still focused more on sports than scripted shows.
The aftermath of last 12 months's work break meant that some media firms were able to spotlight fewer series and movies of their presentations. Cost reduction by firms, including Disney And Warner Bros. Discovery didn't help matters.
Live sports remained the darling of upfront meetings because it still attracts the most important audience and due to this fact probably the most promoting dollars.
“I find [the companies] benefited from earnings during the strike. And I think there's been a reluctance to expand because it's been about understanding how content spending really drives returns,” said Tom Rogers, chief executive of Oorbit Gaming and Entertainment and former president of NBC Cable.
“There used to be this kind of automation where you would release a certain amount of programming for the new season, and it was relatively formulaic, with no real understanding of how content drove profitability,” he added.
He pointed to 2 key problems for traditional media firms: the decline of traditional television and the rising fees that firms should pay to broadcast live sports.
“If you want to keep content spending at a reduced level, that by definition means your entertainment programming has to be reduced,” Rogers said.
Light on entertainment
Disney has been playing trailers for the upcoming Disney+ series “Agatha All Along” and “Daredevil: Born Again,” but for its cable channel FX it has only highlighted the following season of the favored series “The Bear,” which can be streaming on Hulu. The company also announced “Golden Bachelorette,” the following installment of ABC’s popular reality series.
Warner Bros. Discovery highlighted series like “House of the Dragon” and “And Just Like That,” each spin-offs of HBO series.
“However, a strong content offering – be it sports or entertainment – is only one piece of the puzzle,” said Amy Leifer, chief promoting sales officer at DIRECTV Advertising. “With the explosive growth of [ad-supported streaming]“The modern viewing experience depends as much on the content as it does on the advertising that supports it.”
Some movies played an enormous role on the upfronts, especially after streaming services like NBCUniversal's Peacock recently received a lift from blockbusters like “Oppenheimer.”
Comcast'NBCUniversal focused on the upcoming musical film “Wicked” and the renewal of some Peacock original series.
The summer box office season for movies, which runs from the primary weekend in May through Labor Day, is anticipated to shrink by about $800 million this 12 months because the season brings a limited and unsteady stream of blockbuster movies. It follows a second quarter that was almost 50% behind ticket sales in the identical period last 12 months.
The film calendar is anticipated to extend within the fourth quarter with big titles like Warner Bros. “Joker: Folie a Deux,” Paramount’s “Gladiator II,” Disney Animation’s “Moana 2” and Universal’s “Wicked” are in theaters. The 2025 and 2026 calendar is anticipated to bring a major increase in titles, including features from major franchises corresponding to Marvel, Star Wars, Batman, Super Mario Bros. and rollover tickets for a 3rd Avatar film.
Meanwhile, technology giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, which recently added cheaper, ad-supported tiers to its streaming platforms, kicked off Upfronts week in full force, showcasing not only sports but additionally upcoming movies and series.
Amazon, which now owns MGM Studios, has announced renewals and upcoming seasons of original series like “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” “The Boys” and “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” Actor Jake Gyllenhaal announced a sequel to “Roadhouse” and Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon discussed their film “You're Cordially Invited.”
Meanwhile, Netflix announced the sequel to Adam Sandler's “Happy Gilmore” in addition to a lot of other series.
Athletic dominance
The NFL was once more the winner of most upfront presentations this 12 months.
Tentpole sports programs from the Summer Olympics to the NBA, which are a magnet for the most important TV and streaming audiences and tons of promoting dollars, were also key parts of the presentations.
“We often hear from top customers that the importance of advance purchases has diminished beyond securing placements in live sports,” said Mike Dupree, chief revenue officer at Teads, a world premium publishing platform. “Access to high-quality content in an on-demand world has alleviated the scarcity that historically drove the upfront model. Live sport appears to be the last bastion, as rights renegotiations prove.”
NBCUniversal devoted much of its presentation to the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris. The NFL played a role in all presentations, even for the newcomer to the ad-supported streaming landscape, Netflix. Perhaps the biggest sporting sensation during Upfronts week was the announcement just hours before the presentation that it had reached a deal to broadcast NFL games on Christmas Day for the next three years.
Amazon presented Thursday Night Football, its second Black Friday game, and a upcoming Wildcard playoff game in January – the first ever for Prime.
“This year we saw media giants betting on big bets like “Wicked,” the Olympics and sports superstars like Jason Kelce to create buzz,” said Tim Hurd, vice president of media activation at digital marketing agency Goodway Group . “The evolving live sports landscape and the use of college sports, NFL games and the Olympics as a cross-platform experience has been very exciting.”
Kelce, who recently retired from the NFL after 13 years with the Philadelphia Eagles, appeared in advance at Disney to announce that he would be a commentator for ESPN starting this season. His appearance made headlines – as he and his brother Travis Kelce often do – when he picked up “Abbott Elementary” star and creator Quinta Brunson during the event.
image credit : www.cnbc.com