It’s official: With the merger done, Warner Bros. Discovery will hold a combined upfront presentation that will see the company sell all of its media brands, from HBO Max, TNT and TBS, to HGTV, Discovery and Food Network.
The company will make its presentation on Wednesday, May 18, at The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden (it’s the theater that sits underneath the famous arena), taking over the space that in recent years (pre-COVID, at least) was used by WarnerMedia to make its pitch to marketers and advertisers.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s chief U.S. advertising sales officer Jon Steinlauf announced the move Monday.
“The presentation will showcase Warner Bros. Discovery’s differentiated and complete portfolio of content, brands, franchises and talent to clients, agency partners, investors, sell-side analysts and press,” the company added.
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Warner Bros. Discovery began trading on the Nasdaq exchange Monday, scoring a handful of analyst upgrades, but seeing some volatile trading. Led by CEO David Zaslav, the upfront will mark something of a public debut for the entertainment giant, which also owns Warner Bros. Pictures, a video game division and Eurosport.
The WBD upfront will also join what is shaping up to be a crowded upfront week, with many companies that shifted to virtual events for the last two years once again returning to in-person options.
NBCUniversal will kick off the week on the morning of May 16, returning to its longtime home of Radio City Music Hall. That afternoon, Fox Corp. will move to a new venue in Battery Park City, and incorporate Fox News, Tubi and Fox Sports in its pitch.
On May 17, Disney will hold an event at Basketball City on the Lower East Side, with Paramount returning to CBS’ longtime upfront home of Carnegie Hall the afternoon of May 18. YouTube is also crashing the upfront week, planning an event the evening of May 17.
