All eyes have been on streaming at this year’s upfronts. Sports are moving to digital, new (and old) trends are emerging for ad buying and delivery, and political advertising has been surprisingly quiet. Here are four themes that stood out this upfronts season.
1. Live sports aren’t just for linear anymore
Disney brought out former NFL player Jason Kelce and boasted NCAA March Madness success. Amazon promoted Thursday Night Football and the WNBA. NBCUniversal touted the Summer Olympics. Netflix showcased its NFL games.
“The largest streaming services are increasingly featuring sports,” said our analyst Ross Benes. “Viewership for them will be down compared to linear, but this is the way to grow sports interest among younger viewers. And the leagues like having more companies bidding on rights.”
The focus on sports streaming isn’t surprising, especially as connected TV (CTV) allows for an increase in ad inventory. This year 105.3 million people in the US will watch live sports via digital, up 10.2% over 2023, per our forecast. Streamers—and advertisers—will be there to meet them.
2. Ad tech moves in-house
Netflix announced its own in-house ad platform, terminating its partnership with Microsoft. The move allows Netflix more efficient targeting and measurement and could set the precedent for streamers owning their own ad tech, either by building it from the ground up or by acquiring ad tech companies.
Netflix’s ad-supported tier has been a success and will cross the $1 billion mark for US ad revenues next year, per our forecast. CTV advertisers know that their ad dollars are going to waste, so any way streamers like Netflix can streamline their ad delivery will be appealing to buyers.
3. Advance buying will outlive linear
US upfront/NewFront digital video ad spend will rise 37.3% this year to reach $18.61 billion, per our forecast. That shows media buyers are still planning ahead, even as viewers move away from linear.
“Buying upfront became popular with linear TV, but that old-school sales tactic has become common in digital video, podcasts, video games, and is even emerging in retail media,” said Benes. “As long as advertising campaigns are built around product launches and particular timeframes, buying inventory ahead of time will prevail.”
4. No one’s talking politics
“Political advertisers usually buy local and not upfront. But with a record amount of political TV advertising happening right now, it is curious that presentations didn't mention it,” said Benes. “Political ads are appearing across major streaming services, but they get no play during upfronts.”
US political ad spend will reach $12.32 billion this year, up more than $2 billion from the last presidential election year, per our forecast. But even news organizations were emphasizing advertising beyond political ads, which can prevent brand safety risks to other advertisers for their controversial content.
“Politics matters, especially in this election year, but we don’t believe news is just politics,” said Mark Thompson, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide.