Between TV upfronts last week and the IAB’s NewFronts the week before that, it’s been a jam-packed and star-studded fortnight’s worth of pitches to the advertising industry.
But now that all the dust and confetti has settled, negotiations between marketers, agencies, networks and streamers are only just getting started.
Meaning, it’ll be a while before we have a clear picture of how ad spending will shake out for the 2025-2026 television season.
That doesn’t mean we can’t read the tea leaves, though.
AdExchanger spoke with agency leaders who were in New York City attending most of the biggest TV upfront events.
- Juliet Corsinita, head of convergent video, PMG
- John Mergen, chief media officer, The Shipyard
- Mike Gambelli, VP of media investment, Digitas
- Marjorie Powers, EVP of strategic growth, Stella Rising
Here’s what these insiders had to say about what they wanted to see from broadcasters heading into last week – and, more importantly, whether their expectations were met.
What kind of upfront market do you foresee this year and why?
CORSINITA: A bifurcated market with live events moving at a faster clip and general entertainment being drawn out a bit longer into the dog days of summer, when brand marketers may have a better line of sight on future budgets and calendar demands. A lot of news was released, including the NFL schedule, so we need time to assess everything and let some of the changes sink in.
MERGEN: Like last year, the 2025 upfront market is going to be slow, cautious and uncertain. The economic and political headwinds will muscle their way into advertisers’ confidence and comfortability, but I’m optimistic the market will come out on top.
POWERS: The upfront market is continuing to normalize with an emphasis on strategic, data-driven partnerships that can adapt over traditional inflexible, permanent large deals. I expect the competition to be fierce where it matters most, as brands and agencies are prioritizing brand building and storytelling, and premium, mass-media environments – and live sports! – are places to drive long-term brand growth.
Experts have predicted that in the coming year advertisers will spend less on TV and demand more flexibility from publishers. Do you believe those predictions will bear out?
MERGEN: We should all agree that the market needs to evolve. TV ad dollars should be held back if the networks and streamers can’t come to the table with maximum flexibility on terms. Advertisers need stronger partners who can move with market conditions and provide solutions to meet advertisers’ need for flexibility.
POWERS: TV ad spending is eroding at a glacial pace, so this topic can be industry noise. TV will be concentrated and most competitive in premium, live and culturally significant content where demand is rising alongside prices. This will be balanced with the significant growth in CTV and digital video environments that can provide flexibility, real-time measurement and experimentation.
CORSINITA: There is a lot of content and a lot of choice out there. Marketers will likely divide their investments between “must haves” that may move quickly or align with key marketing calendar dates and “nice to haves” that they can take more time to consider.
What were you and your clients most interested to hear during the upfront presentations, and were your expectations met?
MERGEN: Going into the upfronts, the most important thing we wanted to hear was something fresh, not a repeated story from 2024. Content is expected, but what new ad tech, ad units and targeting capabilities will help create differentiation for my clients?
Meeting expectations when it comes to the upfront presentations is tough. But we got some glimmers of it from a few partners like Amazon and Netflix, who found ways to entertain and create stickiness with their news, content and ad platform enhancements.
CORSINITA: I’m hearing that, with tighter budgets, marketers want fewer, deeper partnerships that can help them connect deeply with customers and stand out from the noise.
GAMBELLI: Since I cover the luxury business, my clients and I still want to hear about new premium programming being rolled out. Putting our consumers in the right mindset before seeing our ads is important to us. But we also want to see innovations in ad formats within streaming platforms. Overall, my expectations were met in both areas.
POWERS: I’m excited about the developments in creative ad formats, with improvements in seamless interactivity and shoppability. Creators stepped out this year in an incredibly culturally relevant way for platforms and brands to experiment and capitalize on their influence.
Overall, who do you think were the biggest winners and losers?
GAMBELLI: I think NBCU is the big winner with all the major tentpole events they have coming up in 2026, including the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics, NBA All-Star Weekend, their 100th anniversary and the Spanish-language World Cup.
As for a loser, I didn’t see any clear-cut one. All the major holding companies that still host upfront presentations have strong stories to tell. That said, I’m sure WBD would have liked to tout the NBA as part of its sports portfolio, and the rebrand from Max back to HBO Max made them appear a bit disorganized.
CORSINITA: I don’t look at it as a dichotomy of winners or losers. Every portfolio has amazing talent in front of and behind the camera. Quality is in the eye of the viewer, and there is literally something for everyone on any platform represented at the upfronts.
Do you think the currency conversation is on pause? There’s been so much controversy over the past few years, but I haven’t heard much about currency this upfront season so far. Why do you think it’s gone a bit quiet on that front?
POWERS: That’s because the industry is being pragmatic and recognizing that, for now, Nielsen is the established and trusted source.
The movement to premium helps. Advanced data and measurement is being layered in, but Nielsen is the foundation for how many of us buy today. This is evolving, but I think for now we all recognize that we live in a world of inclusion when it comes to measuring.
GAMBELLI: The shift from Nielsen’s panel-only measurement to a panel-plus-big-data approach is finally giving advertisers a much better, more up-to-date solution. As a result, alternate measurement solutions have become less of a concern, which is why you’re not hearing about them as much.
MERGEN: It’s not that currency is not being talked about; it’s just competing with more important industry challenges right now. The current economic and political environment taking the front seat makes for an easy distraction.
But advertisers and agencies are engaged and just trying to find the right approach that works to ensure their advertising is delivering.
Responses have been lightly edited and condensed.
