Amazon’s aggressive pursuit to take center stage during Television’s annual Upfront Week is leading to a collision with traditional industry practices.
Amazon, a leader in streaming and ecommerce, intends to move its annual upfront presentation to the Monday evening of the week typically reserved for major media companies’ presentations on Madison Avenue. By making this change, Amazon may compel certain advertisers to forego other events that have historically taken place during that time slot. Typically, Fox Corp. presents its upfront in the late afternoon on Monday, while NBCUniversal’s Spanish-language network, Telemundo, has hosted a Monday night event and concert for advertisers for several years running.
Competitors predict that Amazon’s strategy will result in a busier Monday for everyone involved. Furthermore, this upcoming event might disrupt not just their prearranged presentations, but also previously scheduled meetings between advertisers and the sales teams of these networks.
In a statement, Mark Marshall, head of global advertising and partnerships at NBCU, notes that the annual Upfronts, with their consistent schedule rooted in cross-industry cooperation, are essential for both our agency and client partners. He emphasizes that NBCUniversal’s Monday evening Telemundo event is crucial during this week, considering the significant economic influence of the Latino community in our industry. With Telemundo being the top Spanish-language broadcast network and set to host the FIFA World Cup in North America in 2026, it’s vital for the advertising marketplace to engage with them. However, he regrets that the scheduling conflicts among Upfront events can be detrimental to our agencies and clients.
Jeff Collins, President of Advertising Sales, Marketing, and Brand Partnerships at Fox Corp., stated that traditionally, the Upfront week has been structured to optimally cater to clients’ constraints and priorities. He regrets to announce that another event has been squeezed into an already busy day for advertisers, as the Upfront presentations are primarily intended for them.
Amazon is scheduling its annual advertising event, known as an upfront, at New York City’s Beacon Theater for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 12th. Typically, Mondays have been dominated by NBCUniversal and Fox during the upfronts, with their presentations taking place in the late morning, evening, and late afternoon respectively. This year, Amazon will be stepping into this arena, having previously held its first upfront presentation on a Tuesday morning in 2024, a slot that was previously occupied by Disney.
According to someone knowledgeable on the subject, Amazon appeared unbothered by the fact that their event was happening near those of competitors. The company chose not to provide executives for a statement in response.
Amazon plans on discussing potential advertising avenues related to their ad-subscribed streaming service, as well as programming and content connected with Prime Video, Amazon Studios (MGM), Fire TV channels, Twitch, Wondery, IMDb, Amazon Live, and Amazon Music with advertisers.
Starting from the next week, Amazon stands to take the lead, as it secures the rights to stream about two-thirds (66 games) of the NBA package that was previously owned by Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT. Analyst Robert Fishman estimates that these games could potentially generate up to $750 million in new ad revenue for Amazon annually. Fishman further projects that Amazon will pay approximately $1.795 billion per year for its NBA rights. In the holiday season of 2025, Amazon has already announced its intentions to compete for advertising dollars by pairing a special NFL “Black Friday” game with an NBA game. Additionally, Amazon currently holds the rights to NASCAR events as well.
As a follower, I acknowledge that my rival competitors might find Amazon’s Monday-night debut somewhat irritating. Similarly, Fox relies significantly on live sports rights, particularly those linked with the NFL and Major League Baseball, for advertising income. Moving ahead, Telemundo seems to be part of NBCUniversal’s future sports strategies, which will also include a new NBA package in 2026, along with broadcasting rights for Super Bowl LX.
Interestingly enough, back in 2009, Fox shifted its usual schedule and took over Mondays, a day traditionally dominated by NBC. The upfront event, which was usually held on Thursdays and concluded the week, was moved to Monday by Fox, encroaching on NBC’s long-held territory. This move came when then-NBCU CEO Jeff Zucker opted to forgo the traditional upfront presentation for NBC’s broadcast network in favor of an interactive event centered around Rockefeller Center in New York, encompassing offerings from CNBC to “American Gladiators.” Without a traditional upfront presentation from NBC, Fox executives reasoned, there was no harm in making the change.
2016 saw NBCU reciprocating with a move, enlisting Jennifer Lopez as the headliner for a Monday-night musical event designed to boost Telemundo. Since then, this Spanish broadcast network has consistently dominated Monday evenings.
Today, Amazon is feeling upbeat about Mondays. According to Alan Moss, vice president of global ad sales, we’ve received great feedback from agencies and brands after our initial Prime Video ads upfront. Advertisers are drawn to our extensive array of full-funnel advertising solutions. We’re linking various campaign tactics such as awareness, consideration, and conversion into a unified strategy. This allows us to precisely assess the impact of each tactic and support ongoing business expansion.
In the past, Amazon has encountered issues regarding public perceptions. For instance, their 2024 upfront event took place at a downtown Manhattan location, which was distinct from other events happening that week. Amazon chose to postpone the start of its presentation to accommodate most guests, however, this late start made it challenging for attendees to make it on time for the following event hosted by TelevisaUnivision.
In the 2024 upfront, Amazon significantly influenced negotiations, following its announcement to switch its Prime Video service to an ad-supported model for all users, requiring those who prefer ad-free viewing to pay an additional fee. This decision led to a significant increase in commercial inventory, which put downward pressure on streaming ad rates and may impact the sales process in 2025.
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2025-01-06 17:16