Disney Puts Focus on Streaming Ad Sales in Brisk TV Upfront (EXCLUSIVE)

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Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWarnerMedia said it posted a solid upfront, but, like its rivals this year, offered little evidence of whether it had notched volume gains in a market where advertisers were forced to capitulate to significant hikes in the rates they pay to reach large groups of viewers.In a statement, the AT&T-owned company said it had completed “the most successful Upfront marketplace in the company’s history,” in terms of securing advance ad commitments.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAdvertisers’ continuing interest in live sports helped ViacomCBS close its upfront sales process even as the company met resistance from Madison Avenue over the rate increases it sought to bolster its business.ViacomCBS has come to the end of its sales effort, according to a person familiar with the matter, notching noticeable growth in sports, particularly the NFL.

K.J. Yossman Global Series Network is set to launch its international drama VOD offering Walter Presents on DMD’s Latin American streaming service CiND!E.The steaming service, which offers a curated selection of the world’s best non-English language scripted content, was first launched on Channel 4 five years ago by co-founders Walter Iuzzolino, Jason Thorp and Jo McGrath.

Manori Ravindran International EditorSir Edmund Hillary’s family will ascent the mountain that made their grandfather a household name in a new documentary being launched in Cannes.Directed by Ben Webster, one of the world’s top expedition leaders, “Everest: Legacy” is currently in pre-production and will be shopped to buyers by New York-headquartered documentary sales firm Cargo Film & Releasing, which has picked up world rights.The film follows Hillary’s son Peter and his grandchildren, along

Angelina Jolie has visited war-weakened Burkina Faso to show solidarity with people who continue to welcome the displaced, despite grappling with their own insecurity, and said the world isn’t doing enough to help.While Burkina Faso has been battling a five-year Islamic insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State that’s killed thousands and displaced more than one million people, it’s also hosting more than 22,000 refugees, the majority Malian.“The truth is we are not doing half of what

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorMadison Avenue has a lot to say about the current state of the TV industry — and more of it will need to be spoken in Spanish.Univision, the Spanish-language broadcaster that is operating under new ownership, has secured double-digit percentage increases in advance advertising commitments for its next programming cycle, the latest traditional broadcaster to benefit from an unusually speedy “upfront” market, when TV companies try to sell the bulk of their

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorChristy Tanner, one of the architects of CBS’ early-to-market CBSN streaming-news outlet, is leaving the company just as more media companies have begun to focus on creating news programming for mobile viewers.She announced her exit to staffers Thursday. “It’s been eight years since I joined CBS Interactive, five years since I joined CBS News Digital, and … never years since I took some solid time off,” Tanner wrote.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox saw increases in advance ad commitments for its primetime schedule and expanding digital venues as part of the industry’s annual “upfront” sales process, the latest of the nation’s big media companies to see robust activity as advertisers try to move forward as the coronavirus pandemic diminishes.The Fox Corporation unit saw advertising commitments rise across all areas of its portfolio, which includes the Fox broadcast network; Fox Sports and Fox News Media,

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBC is working up a new play for the Super Bowl.Eager to generate millions of dollars in revenue from the Big Game, the Comcast-owned media conglomerate is talking to potential advertisers about a price tag of $6 million for a 30-second spot in the event, according to executives familiar with current negotiations, marking a new high-water mark in pricing for Super Bowl commercials. Super Bowl LVI is slated to be broadcast on Feb.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Julia’s Eyes” helmer Guillem Morales is readying 1980s-set psychological thriller “Brother,” with WestEnd Films set to launch sales at the Cannes virtual market later this month.Morales, one of Spain’s top genre auteurs, is best known for 2010 Spanish horror “Julia’s Eyes” (pictured), which was produced by Guillermo del Toro. The director recently won a BAFTA for his work on the hit BBC dark comedy anthology series “Inside No.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAccelerating climate change and its far-flung effects have  fast become the most important story in the news cycle. But that isn’t always the stuff that gets talked about or tweeted — or the biggest ratings.Part of the issue? Shifts in the environment happen gradually over time, not usually in a violent, shocking moment that can be captured by cameras.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe CEO of NBCUniversal said the company enjoyed robust demand in the TV industry’s upfront market, but offered no tangible detains on volume or pricing to help bolster his case.“It was the strongest upfront I think probably in the history of NBCUniversal,” said Jeff Shell, NBCU’s CEO, speaking during an investor conference with Credit Suisse Monday. “We saw results in this upfront far beyond what we thought we’d see.

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Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorA new lineup of Saturday programming and a surge of post-pandemic spending by Madison Avenue helped the CW boost its volume of advertising commitments in TV’s annual “upfront” market, a sign that advertisers continue to make the medium a central part of their plans even as they are showing new interest in chasing viewers to new streaming venues.The network, jointly owned by ViacomCBS and AT&T’s WarnerMedia, has wrapped its upfront negotiations, according to a

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThis year’s upfront ad-sales session is shaping up to be one of the fastest in recent memory. But some TV companies are working to slow things down.At a time when advertisers appear willing to capitulate to significant pricing increases, they are still balking at demands from both Discovery and ViacomCBS, according to three media buying executives and other people familiar with the tone of these annual negotiations for commercial inventory between U.S.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorScott Collins has found life beyond “The Walking Dead.”The former ad-sales chief at AMC Networks, who gained traction by finding interesting ways of tying prominent marketers to some of the company’s flagship series, has joined Blockgraph, the ad-tech company that is jointly owned by by Charter Communications, Comcast, and ViacomCBS.