TV upfronts

Nextdoor isn’t ruling out AI data licensing, but it has concerns; NBCU touts sports and streaming as drivers of its record Upfronts; and Scholastic follows kids and parents to YouTube.

AI Overviews makes dodgy product recommendations because it scrapes marketing copy; discrepancies in TV ratings hamper upfronts negotiations; and why mar tech companies are building software fortresses.

TV dealmaking has shifted to “always-on” models; “activation” is a classic bit of ad jargon; ChatGPT is sending more traffic to publisher.

Now that all the dust and confetti has settled after the upfronts, negotiations between marketers, agencies, networks and streamers are only just getting started.

Amid the glitz of TV upfront presentations, advertising executives take the stage to talk about things like new audience targeting capabilities or to ballyhoo new ad measurement partnerships. How, though, are we supposed to focus on brand lift statistics when we can all hear Lady Gaga belting a vocal warmup offstage?

If Netflix’s most recent upfront presentation is any indication, the third time must be the charm.

At Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfront presentation in New York City on Wednesday, Ad Sales co-presidents Ryan Gould and Bobby Voltaggio announced the launch of not one but two ad solutions: NEO and DemoDirect.

Ever since 2020, TV upfront rates have declined; inconsistent metrics mean inaccurate results; plus, Roblox is touting its strong hold on its viewers’ (er, gamers’) attention.

Contextually relevant pause ads were just one of three new formats that Amazon unveiled in advance of its upfronts presentation on Monday.

Does a connected TV DSP need lower take rates? Inside the battle among DSP’s to take on The Trade Desk’s dominant market position. Plus: an on-the-ground report from the TV Newfronts.