Companies lean on sports after Hollywood strikes

Major media companies turned to sports last year when they had to win over advertisers during Upfront’s conference week, at a time when Hollywood strikes and cost cuts hurt content and star power.

This year, stars returned to the stage following the end of the strike, but the presentation was still focused more on sports than scripted shows.

Last year’s shutdowns meant some media companies featured fewer series and films in their presentations.Cost savings from companies such as disney and warner bros discovery It didn’t help the problem.

Live sports remains a favorite of upfront conferences and continues to attract the largest audience and therefore the highest advertising spend.

“I think [the companies] “During the strike, we benefited on the revenue side. I think we were hesitant to increase production due to various issues trying to understand how our spending on content was actually generating profit,” Orbit said.・Tom Rogers, Chairman of the Board of Gaming and Entertainment and former President of NBC Cable, said:

“We used to have this kind of automatic mechanism where we would put in a certain amount of programming for a new season, but it was relatively formulaic and there was no sense of understanding how the content was going to be profitable. “There wasn’t much,” he added.

He pointed to two key issues for traditional media companies. The decline of traditional television and the increasing fees companies have to pay for live sports coverage.

“If we’re going to maintain the level of reductions in content spending, that obviously means we’re going to have to cut back on entertainment programming,” Rogers said.

Disney has dropped trailers for the upcoming Disney+ series “Agatha All Along” and “Daredevil: Born Again,” but for the cable network FX, the upcoming Disney+ series “The Bear,” which also streams on Hulu, has been released. It just highlighted the season. The company also announced the next installment of broadcast network ABC’s popular reality series, “The Golden Bachelorette.”

Warner Bros. Discovery has pushed series such as “House of the Dragon” and “And Just Like That,” both spinoffs of the HBO series.

“But strong content candidates, whether it’s sports or entertainment, are just one piece of the puzzle,” said Amy Leifer, chief advertising sales officer at DIRECTV Advertising. “With explosive growth, [ad-supported streaming], the modern television experience relies on content as well as advertising to support it. ”

Some movies played a big role in the upfront, especially after streaming services like NBCUniversal’s Peacock gained traction. Recently, I have been influenced by blockbuster works like “Oppenheimer”.

Comcast”■ NBCUniversal focused on the upcoming musical film “Wicked” and the renewal of Peacock original series.

The summer movie box office season, which runs from the first weekend in May until Labor Day, is expected to shrink by about $800 million this year due to limited and unstable screenings of blockbusters. This follows a second quarter that saw ticket sales lag nearly 50% behind the same period last year.

The movie calendar is expected to increase with major titles like Warner Bros. in the fourth quarter. “Joker: Folie à Deux,” Paramount’s “Gladiator II,” Disney Animation’s “Moana 2” and Universal’s “Wicked” are coming to theaters. Calendar 2025 and his 2026 will feature major series features such as Marvel, Star Wars, Batman, Super Mario Bros., and a rollover ticket for the third Avatar movie, with a major boost in titles It’s a schedule.

On the other hand, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video recently added an ad-supported lower price tier to its streaming platform and got into Upfront Week in earnest, showcasing not only sports but also upcoming movies and series.

Amazon, which currently owns MGM Studios, has focused on renewals and upcoming seasons of original series such as “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” “The Boys” and “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” Actor Jake Gyllenhaal announced a sequel to “Roadhouse,” and Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon talked about their movie “You Are Warily Invited.”

Meanwhile, Netflix announced a sequel to Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore and other series.

The NFL reigned supreme in most Upfront presentations this year as well.

High-profile sports programming, from the Summer Olympics to the NBA, which attracts the largest television and streaming audiences and significant advertising dollars, was also a key part of the presentation.

Mike Dupree, chief revenue officer at Teads, a global premium publishing platform, said: “Top clients are telling us that upfront purchases are becoming less important outside of securing slots in live sports.” I listen to it a lot,” he said. ”Access to quality content in an on-demand world has reduced the scarcity that has traditionally driven the upfront model. Live sports appears to be the last bastion, as evidenced through the renegotiation of rights. ”

NBCUniversal devoted much of its presentation to: The upcoming Paris Summer Olympics. The NFL played a role in all presentations, including one for newcomers to the ad-supported streaming industry. Netflix. The show generated perhaps the biggest buzz in the sports world during Upfront Week, with just hours before the presentation announcing an agreement had been reached to broadcast NFL games on Christmas Day for the next three years.

Amazon has introduced its second Black Friday game, Thursday Night Football. from now on Wild Card Playoff Game in January – First in Prime History.

Tim Hurd, vice president of media activation at digital marketing agency Goodway Group, said: “This year, the media giants are looking to create buzz around things like ‘Wicked,’ the Olympics, and sports superstars like Jason Kelce. “I was making a huge bet.” “There was a lot of excitement about the evolving live sports landscape and leveraging college sports, NFL games, and the Olympics as omniplatform experiences.”

Kelce, who recently retired from the NFL after 13 years with the Philadelphia Eagles, appeared on the Disney upfront to announce that he will be a commentator for ESPN starting this season. His appearance made headlines, as he and his brother Travis Kelsey tend to do, when he featured “Abbott Elementary” star and creator Quinta Brunson during the event.

— Sarah Witten contributed to this article.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.