WBD gets presidential
While the closing banter between Conan O’Brien and Shaquille O’Neal sent the audience away in high spirits, the most memorable moment of the Warner Bros. Discovery upfront came when CNN CEO Mark Thompson announced on stage that his network had secured the first televised presidential debate of the year. Thompson, with notecards in his hand, told the audience that the confirmations had only come together minutes beforehand, providing a rare bit of unscripted programming. Thompson also managed to turn the news into a perfect sales pitch, telling the crowd, “When people have something important to say, they say it on CNN. You should, too.” — Mark Stenberg
Netflix creates real-life Squid Game
It was not a traditional upfront presentation, but the post-show Netflix Experience felt like a throwback to what the upfronts were and a preview of what they could potentially become. The streamer transformed a wing of New York’s Chelsea Piers into an activation-friendly amusement park celebrating its varied wares, from Bridgerton to the WWE. In previously flush times, cable and broadcast networks similarly went all out for their shows—I still remember seeing full-sized Defiance props all over one Syfy upfront. Nowadays, those stunts are saved for fan events like Comic-Con, and the Netflix Experience was absolutely designed to tickle that inner fan fancy with activations like its real-life Squid Game experience. Instead of participating in the preexisting upfront week going forward, Netflix could launch its own Netflix Week where advertisers and journalists could play a rousing round of Red Light, Green Light in between announcements of ad tiers and series slates. — Ethan Alter
