In the television industry, an upfront is a gathering at the start of important
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
sales periods, held by television network executives and attended by major
advertisers and the media. It is so named because of its main purpose, to allow marketers to buy television commercial airtime "up front", or several months before the television season begins.
The first upfront presentation was made by
ABC in 1962, in an attempt to find out how advertisers felt about the network's new shows.
United States
In the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, the major
broadcast network
A terrestrial network (or broadcast network in the United States) is a group of radio stations, television stations, or other electronic media outlets, that form an agreement to air, or broadcast, content from a centralized source. For example, ...
s' upfronts traditionally occurred in New York City during the third week of May, the last full week of that month's
sweeps
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
period. That has changed over the years with the 2017 season now starting in early March and running through May.
The networks announce their fall
primetime
Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
schedules, including tentative launch dates (i.e., fall or
midseason) for new television programming, which may be "picked up" the week before. The programming announcements themselves are usually augmented with clips from the new television series, extravagant musical numbers, comedic scenes, and appearances by network stars, and take place at grand venues such as
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...
,
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and theater at 1260 Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplace of the Nation", it is the headquarters for ...
, or
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...
.
It is also the time when it is announced (by virtue of not being on the fall schedule) which shows are canceled for the next season.
The broadcast upfront has seen momentous change as advertisers shifted their spending to digital platforms. While the advertising research firm Standard Media Index reported "softening" in 2017. That trend is slowing, according to the same report, which revealed that the last quarter of 2016 saw "the first glimpse of a flattening Digital market". Year-over-year sales were up 9% over last year's 35% growth in the same period. In the first quarter of 2016, digital gains hovered at 6% versus the 19% growth of the prior year.
Big data
Though used sometimes loosely partly because of a lack of formal definition, the interpretation that seems to best describe Big data is the one associated with large body of information that we could not comprehend when used only in smaller am ...
and new software algorithms for targeting specific consumers may reverse the trend. M'Lou Walker, CEO of the maker of the
Zicam
Zicam is a branded series of products marketed for cold and allergy relief whose original formulations included the element zinc. The Zicam name is derived from a portmanteau of the words "zinc" and "ICAM-1" (the receptor to which a rhinovirus bin ...
brand of cold remedy, talked about using big data and analytics allowed her precise targeting, flexibility and measurable results of $1.50 of profit for every $1 spent on television advertising.
In recent years, the networks have mostly revealed this information to the public a few days before the actual presentation. Some cable networks present earlier in the spring since they usually program for the summer months, and these are much more confined to television trade press as far as public attention outside prestige projects. Streaming services associated with the networks (which often feature lower-cost plans with commercial advertising) may also announce new projects or releases at the same time, though other services like
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
or
Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
...
which subsist on subscriber fees without any advertising often market their programming under a different strategy altogether.
Historically, the fall television schedule was created to help the
automotive industry
The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % ...
promote new
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded ...
s coming in the new
model year, though many automakers often start new vehicle marketing during the
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
in the present day.
Digital Content NewFronts are similar, but for original video content from the Internet, and managed by the
Interactive Advertising Bureau. These were first held in 2008.
[
]
Canada
Upfronts in Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
are similar but occur in either the last week of May or the first week of June, after networks have had a chance to buy Canadian rights to new American series. Usually all presentations are combined by each broadcast network/ television system and their associated cable group of channels, traditionally meaning the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governmen ...
(with CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...
and Ici Radio-Canada Télé
Ici Radio-Canada Télé (formerly known as Télévision de Radio-Canada) is a Canadian French-language free-to-air television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (known in French as Société Radio-Canada), the national pu ...
), Bell Media
Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies.
Establishment (2011–13)
On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
(owner of CTV
CTV may refer to:
Television
* Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet
North America and South America
* CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media
** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...
and CTV 2
CTV 2 is a Canadian English-language television system owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The system consists of four terrestrial owned-and-operated television stations (O&Os) in Ontario, one in British Columbia and two regional cab ...
), Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Ont ...
(owner of Global), Novoo, Groupe TVA (owner of TVA) all hold their own individual presentations.
Australia
Upfronts (also referred to by the British television naming of ''showcase'') in Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
, are a relatively new concept to the industry, introduced in the 2010s, and are not always a lavish affair. Upfronts are typically held between October and December before the start of the Southern Hemisphere's summer non-ratings period, highlighting programming for the next calendar year
Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. A year can also be measured by starting on any ...
.
Unlike American upfronts, a detailed schedule for the year ahead is not typically released, as the Australian market, with a smaller population, is more apt to change schedules if a certain programme schedule does not immediately work out, and the growth of their streaming platforms allows lower-rated import programmes from the United States and United Kingdom to air without materially affecting the broadcast network. Announcements regarding new programmes, axing confirmations and casting news are revealed to advertisers and the media. All three commercial networks ( Seven, Nine, and Ten) as well as both public broadcasters ( ABC and SBS) hold upfront events for their suite of channels, with the ABC having also used the term ''showcase'' to describe the event. The dominant subscription platform Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...
showcase programming airing across all their cable channels, rather than each cable network holding separate events.
References
{{Reflist, 40em
External links
''USA Today'' article with 2006 upfronts schedule
Updated schedule from ''Deadline Hollywood'' blog
Mediaweek, April 2006: "Turner Upfront: TBS Greenlights My Boys, 10 Items"
Television terminology
Television advertising