With upfront staples such as Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers absent from the presentation, the company tapped its news personalities to take their place onstage.
MSNBC’s Willie Geist was onstage to introduce a package about Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary, which is coming up in 2025, The 11th Hour host Stephanie Ruhle came out to introduce the company’s upcoming new dramas—including The Irrational with Jesse L. Martin, which is part of NBC’s fall schedule—and Squawk Box’s Andrew Ross Sorkin discussed Mandy Moore’s involvement in a new season of Dr. Death. Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb later led a whole team of newsers from across NBCU’s ecosystem for a segment showcasing all the various news properties.
In fact, throughout the event, one of the only celebrities not in NBC’s news division who appeared onstage was Access Hollywood’s Mario Lopez.
During a previously recorded segment featuring creators from across NBCU, including Amy Poehler, Dick Wolf and Rian Johnson, the company ran a disclaimer, noting that the interviews took place in April before the writers strike was announced.
A spotlight on sports
In addition to news, NBCU put a spotlight on sports and Bravo throughout the show.
The company is bringing Big Ten Football to its primetime schedule this fall and had Rutgers head football coach Greg Schiano, Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder and Penn State head football coach James Franklin grace the stage to talk about it.
Additionally, Grace Potter sang “Paris” to highlight the Paris Olympics in 2024, as a video of athletes played in the background.
Last year’s presentation, the first in-person upfront week event since 2019, was a star-studded spectacle full of musical numbers and Bravolebrities to celebrate BravoCon. And with BravoCon heading to Las Vegas in 2023, the upcoming show also received its moment, though it was somewhat less star-studded with Andy Cohen absent from the stage.
However, to showcase BravoCon coming to Vegas, NBCU made Vanderpump Rules’ Ariana Madix magically appear onstage with Vegas-style dancers.
Madix has been in the news and across social media since the story broke that Vanderpump cast member Tom Sandoval cheated on her with fellow castmate Raquel Leviss. And after NBCU gave her a magical appearance, Madix joked, “If only they could make some of those other people disappear.”
Telemundo was also featured during the presentation, with stars William Levy and Rafael Amaya coming to the stage, and the company talking about the success of the World Cup on Telemundo and Peacock.
The company also has Spanish-language coverage from the Women’s World Cup on the way.
“With all the focus on women’s sports and the importance of continuing to provide some equity in terms of coverage and exposure, we’re very proud to be able to partner with FIFA for the Women’s World Cup,” Marshall told Adweek ahead of the upfront week event.