Warner Bros. Discovery will address marketers next Wednesday at its TV upfront presentation in Madison Square Garden, where ad buyers will be eager to hear the latest offerings coming to Max and developments in its sports portfolio.

According to Jon Steinlauf, chief U.S. advertising sales officer at WBD, the company will address both of those topics, as well as tout its expanded targeting capabilities and a handful of evolutions at existing properties. 

“As a company, across all of our content platforms, we are reaching about 80% of the U.S. population,” Steinlauf said. “That scale, along with our targeting, is what we are bringing to the upfront.”

In particular, both TruTV and CNN are in the midst of transformations to their editorial strategy that are designed to draw in larger, more engaged audiences, according to Steinlauf.

These evolutions mirror larger trends across the streaming space, which have been reiterated multiple times throughout the upfronts and NewFronts. In short, television publishers are working to balance the slow decline of their lucrative linear properties with the rapid ascent of their largely unprofitable streaming services.

Of all the content genres on the selling block, though, none is more attractive to buyers and audiences than sports. WBD has a broad portfolio of sports offerings, with marquee packages involving the NFL, NBA and NCAA Men’s March Madness franchises. It also has a variety of new sports rights, including a multiyear deal with Nascar and other signings to expand that umbrella further.

Ahead of its upfront, Steinlauf spoke with ADWEEK about its offerings for marketers, its plan for bringing theatrical sponsorships to Max and the latest on its joint sports venture alongside Fox and Disney.

ADWEEK: What will the main areas of focus be for WBD during its upfront next week?

Jon Steinlauf: The three main areas for growth in ad sales are: advanced advertising, sports and ad-supported Max. It’s hard to say which is the most important.

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