SNL 50 is a big one. We’re very excited, and we will be announcing partners around the upfront. Starting off the year will be the Olympics, so Olympics will play a role in this upfront even though we’re only a short period away from that. But the excitement and enthusiasm that we have around the Paris Olympics is nothing like I’ve seen in my 10 years here—not only a consumer sentiment, but from a sponsor sentiment. We feel really great about where we’re at on that.
We will have some new programming that we’ll show as well, and then obviously next year, which will be at the tail end of next year, will be BravoCon. We’ll be coming back in fourth quarter of 2025.
Since you mentioned BravoCon, what’s the reason for postponing until 2025? Especially after a successful 2023 event in Vegas? Will it still be part of this upfront presentation?
If you think about our schedule, our big events: Even-numbered years are typically Olympics and Super Bowl. And what we’re looking to do is try to create a moment where BravoCon could live in the odd-numbered years as we go into this period. Because 2026, we will have the Olympics, Super Bowl, a World Cup here in North America, as well as Big 10 and other big events. What we didn’t want to do is have BravoCon get lost because it is such a great, passionate fanbase. But this year in this upfront, we will be having a couple smaller events that we’re announcing as well. So there will be Bravo representation.
If you think about our schedule, our big events: Even-numbered years are typically Olympics and Super Bowl. And what we’re looking to do is try to create a moment where BravoCon could live in the odd-numbered years as we go into this period.
Mark Marshall, chairman, NBCUniversal ads and partnerships
Speaking of your upcoming Super Bowl, have talks already started for the 2026 game?
We have people that we have multi-year deals with that go across either entertainment or entertainment and sports, so ongoing conversations as it relates to not only Super Bowl discussion, but Olympics, SNL 50. We have a lot of these events that span multiple broadcast seasons. So we’re having discussions with these people.
I think the upfront will also evolve. We’ve always thought about it as you’re reserving these big tentpole events across the year, which is true. But as we continue to evolve, we have conversations with people who are looking to reserve audiences throughout the year. And that was not part of a traditional negotiation in the past.
You were at Turner Sports for years, and have been at NBCU for 10 years. What can you tell us about the importance of sports in this upfront?
Sports is definitely having a moment, men’s and women’s sports. If you go back to 2023, all of our major sports grew on linear as well as digital, meaning it’s not cannibalizing anything that we’re doing. It’s actually finding new audiences. One of the reasons why people have gone to sports—and why broadcast primetime still matters—is people have figured out that—as great as streaming is—streaming also has a very wide swath related to reach. It takes a while to build reach on streaming. Sports and broadcast primetime delivers that immediate impact, immediate scale.