How streaming muscled its way into the upfront spotlight among the OGs of TV
Now that the OGs of TV content — NBCUniversal, Fox, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery — have presented their upfront programming plans to thousands of media folk, the common theme among the presentations shows how much the industry has returned to its content roots: It’s all about the streaming. And sports.
Rita Ferro, Disney’s president of advertising, put it right out there near the outset of the company’s upfront on Tuesday: “We’re leading the transformation in our global advertising business, one that is built for the future and anchored in streaming,” she told the packed house shortly after being introduced in animated form by Peter from “Family Guy.”
Linear TV, although still a significant part of the buy-sell equation for many a media agency in attendance, took a back seat to the Peacocks, Hulus, Tubis and Maxes — through which so many millions of hours of content are now consumed. In fact, among the presentations from the four TV giants, not a single prime-time schedule grid was seen. There was plenty of talk about content, but the fluidity of that content was noticeable, in that networks were mentioned but the streaming services were talked about just as much, if not more.
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Source:: Digiday
