After a pre-recorded 2022 presentation, Fox returned to a live format for this year’s upfront. While the WGA strike impacted talent attendance, the company still brought up plenty of its unscripted and sports stars. What marketers will most likely remember is Erin Andrews doing her best to corral Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Carli Lloyd and Rob Gronkowski, who were all too delighted to chuck signed balls from their respective sports to the audience. — Mollie Cahillane
TelevisaUnivision
It’s always a party with Donna Speciale and TelevisaUnivision. While the ad sales chief brought back elements of last year’s famous salsa dancing video, this year, Speciale headed to Mexico City and Azteca Stadium to learn the art of fútbol, and even call a goal herself. Cap it off with a Super Bowl announcement and a performance from Luis Fonsi, TelevisaUnivsion was one of the week’s most memorable events. — M.C.
Disney
Though some publishers chose to go without talent in upfront events, Disney didn’t shy away from it, bringing the likes of Kim Kardashian, Kevin Feige and Angel Reese to the stage. However, the biggest moment didn’t come from household names. Instead, Disney realized the one ingredient that’s been missing from upfront week this whole time: sword fighting. Toward the end Disney’s event, 100 Samurai came out to sword-fight their way through the North Javits Center in honor of FX’s Shogun. After seeing the costumes and choreography, there’s no going back. So this is Adweek’s official petition to make every presentation have sword fighting next year. — B.B.
Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery previously announced that only executives would appear on stage due to the ongoing strike, and it stayed true to its word. HBO and Max chairman and CEO Casey Bloys made his upfront debut, but, interestingly, the company’s memorable moment is something that didn’t happen—CEO David Zaslav, an upfront staple and a regular topic amid WGA protesters, did not appear on stage for the first time in recent history. — M.C.