Will the TV Upfronts Survive?

Summary

Over the past decade, the media landscape has changed. Media consumption has fragmented across platforms, and the lines between TV and digital continue to blur. The growth of OTT viewing options further splinters audiences. Despite these shifts, TV networks’ annual efforts to attract ad dollars — the “Upfronts” — still reign as the most important revenue-generating events of the year. The accompanying “Newfronts” underscore the increased number of players contributing to new video content and the upheaval in viewing habits. At the ARF’s April 2019 Salon event, leading experts in the field debated key questions, including:

• Do the Upfronts still work, and are they really the most effective way to influence ad buyers?
• What is the relationship between content-based and ad-based revenue, and what are the expectations for how these will evolve?
• What does the future hold for TV’s big event, the Upfronts – and the Newfronts – given ongoing changes?
• How will the TV buying marketplace work, if the Upfronts and Newfronts no longer have the same impact?