TV upfronts 2023—media buyers react to NBCU, Fox, Netflix, YouTube and more ad pitches

The 2023 TV upfronts will be remembered for relatively muted shows despite plenty of industry drama. After all, it’s not every year a top executive such as Linda Yaccarino departs a company just before curtain, and the week’s venues feature picket lines.

But as the likes of NBCUniversal, Fox, TelevisaUnivision, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and YouTube pitched their programming and ad products, a few topics recurred: the continuing decline of linear TV, the growing fragmentation of video viewership, the impact of talent-less showcases and the importance of investing in diversity.

Linear takes a back seat

If there were any doubts about TV’s trajectory away from linear, this week’s presentations made them clear. While networks likely played it safe on commitments to scripted primetime series due to the Writers Guild of America strike, the flashiest moments often centered on their streaming platforms. 

“Traditional linear programming was significantly glossed over—some of that might be WGA strike related with question marks about when new shows will return, but still, we’ve definitely crossed the Rubicon,” one media buyer said.

Disney boasted its gaggle of Marvel and Star Wars series for Disney+, Warner Bros. Discovery outlined its plans for its upcoming Max platform (a combo of Discovery+ and HBO Max) and Peacock highlighted series from A-list talent such as Anthony Hopkins and Annette Bening. Tubi was the first asset promoted during Fox’s upfront, and TelevisaUnivision announced that rather than migrating linear content to its streamer Vix, it would do the opposite, and bring popular Vix originals to linear.

Read more: How Warner Bros. Discovery will sell ads on Max

Where linear shone was within sports, tentpole events and news—many of which took up major shares of stage time since stars of scripted series were notably absent in support of the writers' strike. About half of Disney’s nearly two-hour upfront was devoted to ESPN, along with tentpole events such as the Country Music Awards, Oscars and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.

“Ad-supported streaming platforms continue to be the focus for premium content,” said a second media buyer. “Linear was about live content, although more sports are now migrating to streaming too, further reducing the importance of linear.”

The buyer added that the “emphasis on sports highlights the importance of advertiser revenue to help offset rights fees, and it’s also strike-proof content.”

It’s all incremental

It’s becoming increasingly more difficult to define what is or isn’t TV as viewership spreads across digital video platforms, and as the legacy network groups find themselves juggling massive portfolios inclusive of multiple mediums. As TV fights to maintain its rule in video advertising, “incremental” seemed to be the buzzword at this year’s upfront.

Advertisers have had to balance the various platforms in order to achieve desired reach as cable viewership declines and audiences fragment. And upfront presenters worked to calm concerns over reach. Fox, TelevisaUnivison, NBCUniversal and The CW shared stats about streaming versus linear and the distinct viewers that advertisers can reach through each platform. 

For example, “A show like ‘All American’ has a 30-year age gap between the median age on linear and the median age on the CW app,” said Brad Schwartz, president of entertainment at The CW.

And it extends beyond linear and streaming. NBCU presented its One Platform sales capabilities as a way to reach consumers across not just TV, but also third-party inventory, including YouTube and social media. And Warner Bros. Discovery debuted a new offering called WBD Stream, which gives advertisers inventory across streaming, apps for Bleacher Report, Food Network, TNT, Animal Planet, ID and HGTV, as well as third-party partners, which the company said made the product inclusive of mobile, desktop and web.

Does star power matter? 

Multiple presentations featured a disclaimer that the show being presented wasn’t what was initially intended, as acting talent pulled out of appearing in the usually starry shows in solidarity with the writers who protested outside of NBCUniversal, Fox and Disney’s shows. In their absence, each over-indexed on personalities from news, sports and unscripted content.

The upfronts weren’t without stars, though—Disney’s featured Serena Williams and Kim Kardashian, NBCU had Reba McEntire and Nick Jonas and Fox brought Gordon Ramsay out more than once. But Warner Bros. Discovery made the decision to only feature executives in person.

The first buyer said the absence did impact clients’ experience throughout the week. “No offense to news anchors or TV executives, but there is definitely more buzz when talent from the networks’ on-air scripted content is speaking first-hand about their shows,” the buyer said.

“The lack of actors made a big impact on the presentations,” agreed the second media buyer. “The glamor was missing…The after-party experience was also less exciting with no talent to mingle and take photos with, so many clients opted for earlier dinners instead, reducing the opportunity to make broader industry connections.”

However, the sentiment wasn’t shared by all. A third media buyer said the celebrity shakeup “leveled the playing field” between the media companies, noting that “isn’t what they want, but for us who have to be objective about the offerings, it may have been a good thing.”

For Netflix, the writers’ strike not only prevented it from featuring talent but also forced the streamer to remove its in-person show from the week altogether. The NYPD expressed concern over the number of protesters who would picket the Paris Theater’s sidewalk entrance, a source with knowledge of the presentation told Ad Age.

Related: Takeaways from Netflix's upfront

Instead, Netflix streamed a pre-recorded, virtual event Wednesday evening, sharing new stats for its advertising tier—5 million monthly active users globally—and new content.

“I was pleasantly surprised by Netflix, which pulled a pretty controversial move going virtual in their first year,” said the second buyer. “Their taped show was packed with good looking content and updates on their evolving sales model.”

Updates on DE&I efforts

As advertisers grapple with the economy’s impact on upfront budgets, the desire to maintain commitments for inclusive investment remains steady. During Disney’s upfront, president of advertising Rita Ferro announced advertisers had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Disney’s DE&I initiatives, and that she wanted the number to grow.

“Already this year, we’ve seen a larger amount of DE&I investment planned than all of fiscal year ‘22,” Adam Monaco, executive VP of sales, previously told Ad Age. “So we continue to make tremendous progress there with our partners and we’re really pleased to see how committed they are.”

And Disney is making opportunities for advertisers to keep investing in diverse creators and to connect with diverse audiences, through new branded content from Group Black, Equal Pride, UnitedMasters Inc. and Mecenas Media’s Cocina.

Warner Bros. Discovery also took its DE&I efforts to the stage, announcing it created a new diversity team within its sales division led by Sheereen Russell, executive VP of ad sales and inclusive solutions. The team will consult with advertisers to create custom opportunities for reaching diverse audiences, as well as sponsorships, live event integrations and “inclusive content stacks” in which brands can sponsor hubs of aggregated content featuring diverse content on Max.