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Disney+ Ad Tier, Live Sports Help Drive Disney’s $9B Upfront
The Walt Disney Co. says that it closed its best upfront in the company’s history, with streaming and live events like sports helping to lead the way. The company says that it received commitments totaling $9 billion, 40 percent of which was earmarked for digital and streaming. Disney’s upcoming Disney+ ad tier, joined by Hulu […]
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Peacock Tops $1B in Upfront Ad Revenue, Doubling Growth
NBCUniversal says its 2022 upfront was “record-breaking,” and the “highest grossing upfront since Comcast’s acquisition of NBCUniversal” over a decade ago, though it remained mum on its total haul. In 2021, the company saw upfront ad commitments of more than $7 billion, suggesting that this year’s results are higher than that. One key area where […]
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‘TV’s Top 5’ Podcast: The Upfronts Wrap Edition
Welcome to the 170th episode of TV’s Top 5, The Hollywood Reporter’s TV podcast. Every week, hosts Lesley Goldberg (West Coast TV editor) and Daniel Fienberg (chief TV critic) break down the latest TV news with context from the business and critical sides, welcome showrunners, executives and other guests, and provide a critical guide of what to watch (or skip, […]
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Why Broadcast Networks Took a Back Seat at the Upfronts
In 2009, ABC had so much faith that Modern Family was comedy’s next hit that the network screened the entire pilot for Madison Avenue ad buyers at its upfront presentation. This year, however, ABC was barely mentioned during a Disney presentation that instead highlighted its sprawling portfolio and streaming prowess. Gone are the days when […]
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Upfront Dispatches: The CW Stands Alone
After four days of hype, sizzle reels, data and an unexpected abundance of celebrity profanity, there’s not much left to be said about the 2022 upfront presentations. So, it felt more than fitting that things wrapped up on Thursday morning with a sales pitch from a single broadcast network that’s up for sale itself. The […]
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How The CW’s Sale Could Affect Its Future Schedule
The CW CEO Mark Pedowitz knows fans of his network’s programming are really upset at its atypical round of cancellations this season. The executive came prepared for his pre-upfront call with reporters early Thursday with a message to viewers: He tried. Broadcast’s longest-tenured network topper has a history of giving his long-running scripted originals a […]
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‘Riverdale’ to End With Season 7 on The CW
It’s the end of the line for Riverdale. The CW announced Thursday that the series will end with its seventh season. The show is set for a midseason berth and will premiere in early 2023. Riverdale, created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, became a breakout for The CW after its 2017 debut — aided by a streaming […]
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The CW Fall 2022 Schedule: ‘Supernatural,’ ‘Walker’ Prequels Join Pared Down Slate
A pair of prequels and a handful of acquisitions will help The CW fill out its fall schedule after the network canceled a host of series last week. The Winchesters, a Supernatural origin story focusing on Sam and Dean’s parents, and the 1800s-set Walker: Independence will join the network in the fall. They’re the only […]
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Upfront Dispatches: Paramount Hawks ‘60 Minutes’ in … 60 Minutes (More or Less)
After a solid two and a half days of giddy media buyers breathing in one another’s faces, unleashed on Manhattan en masse for the first time in three years, it was Paramount that finally implored upfront attendees to mask up during its Wednesday evening presentation. A welcome respite from looking at the same, unobscured faces […]
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Upfront Dispatches: Zaslav and Oprah Bet on CNN, Lizzo Can’t Be Censored
Succession and Shark Week are together at last. Exactly 366 days after closing a blockbuster deal to marry Warner Bros. and Discovery, David Zaslav took the upfront stage Wednesday morning for the first time as CEO of the newly merged media behemoth. And he did not mince words. Referencing Rupert Murdoch’s 1980s power play to […]
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Paramount’s Upfront Plans: Broadcast, a Streaming Shift and “Super Franchises”
The last time an upfront presentation was held at Carnegie Hall in May 2019, it was CBS holding court, touting the “strength and stability” of its broadcast schedule. Three years and a global pandemic later, and things have changed. This time the presentation will be led by Paramount Global, the corporate owner of CBS (not […]
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CBS Head Kelly Kahl on ‘Magnum P.I.’ Cancellation, Scaling Back Comedies
The biggest surprise among the crop of canceled broadcast series this year is probably Magnum P.I., the solidly rated CBS reboot that got the boot after four seasons on the network. CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl says the decision was “a tough one,” but made with the overall health of the schedule in mind. “Every […]
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