NBCUniversal doubles down on Olympics, NFL at upfronts

The return of big stars like Jamie Foxx, Snoop Dogg, Kevin Hart and Reese Witherspoon signaled that this year’s upfront presentations were already different from last year’s, which took place during the actors’ and writers’ strikes.NBCUniversal made a big show of its live sports offerings, from more NFL games on Peacock, to 5,000 hours of Olympics coverage. Chris Brooklier and Travis Clark go inside the presentation, including why one of the company’s ad executives called out walled gardens and transparency.Plus, Netflix officially announced it would carry two NFL games on Christmas for the first time ever. And we cover Fox, Disney and Amazon’s upfronts news._______To read the full stories included in this episode:‘We did not create another opaque walled garden’: NBCU touts transparency (and sports) at upfronts: https://www.thecurrent.com/nbcu-transparency-sports-upfrontsStreaming takes over the upfronts with Netflix's NFL news and the Great Rebundling: https://www.thecurrent.com/streaming-upfronts-netflix-sports-news-amazonNetflix Says Ad Tier Has 40M Users, Plans to Bring Ad Tech In-House in Shift From Microsoft: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/netflix-ad-tier-update-40m-users-shift-from-microsoft-1235900301/Appointment TV isn’t dead. It’s making a comeback on streaming platforms: https://www.thecurrent.com/appointment-tv-streaming-platforms Inside the Amazon Upfront: An A-List Gauntlet Is Thrown: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/reese-witherspoon-legally-blonde-series-amazon-upfront-road-house-1235898610/Amazon VP Alan Moss Tells Advertisers At Tech Giant’s First Upfront That Putting Ads On Prime Video “Connected The Dots Across Our Universe”:  https://deadline.com/2024/05/amazon-upfront-mike-hopkins-paul-kotas-streaming-advertising-1235915381/FOX UPFRONT—BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS FROM ITS PITCH TO ADVERTISERS: https://adage.com/article/special-report-tv-upfront/fox-upfront-super-bowl-fox-news-and-tubi-ad-tech-focus/2560281?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D89208624261719825302994803284811687283%7CMCORGID%3D138FFF2554E6E7220A4C98C6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1715759528&CSAuthResp=1%3A%3A5845844%3A150997699%3A24%3Asuccess%3A2BCE6ADF5CE781A1B82431616F540DC8Inside the Fox Upfront: Tom Brady, the F-Word and Jamie Foxx in the Flesh: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/tom-brady-jamie-foxx-f-word-fox-upfront-1235898098/The Current Report is our weekly news roundup of what’s happening in the world of digital media. We headline topical stories every edition — everything from connected TV to retail media networks to new initiatives around identity — offering our fresh take on why it's relevant for the marketing community. Subscribe: https://bit.ly/45HIaXH