NBC traded its "Radio City" for a livestream on Monday, May 11, to give advertising companies a taste of fall.
According to The New York Times' latest report, the livestream also showcased a trailer of the new show, "Mr. Mayor," a new sitcom co-created by Tina Fey starring Ted Danson.
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NBC Trades Radio City For A Livestream To Give Advertising Companies A Message That Media Companies Still Exist
A star-spangled showcase at Radio City Music Hall is held by NBCUniversal every year to get advertisers in the mood to buy air time for their commercials for the fall TV season.
However, a different scene happened on Monday amid the coronavirus pandemic. A live stream presentation was led by Linda Yaccarino, NBC's head of advertising, while seated at home.
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"This isn't where we expected to be this week," she said to the advertisers who had clicked on a private link provided by the NBCUniversal website.
According to the report, the springtime showcases referred to as "upfronts," usually give TV executives a spotlight to be the host of the show at grand locations like the Beacon Theater and Carnegie Hall. The events help the networks secure more than $9 billion in live sports and advertising money for primetime shows.
NBC trades Radio City for a livestream to give advertising companies a message that media companies still exist
According to The New York Times, media companies are just hoping to remind advertisers that they still exist. This year, the annual shindig of The Walt Disney Company, owner of ABC, was scrapped in favor of several smaller presentations for ad buyers.
Fox also announced on Monday the tentative fall schedule but postponed its big event. Meanwhile, a pair of digital presentations will be hosted by CBS next week. NBCUniversal also canceled its Radio City for a livestream.
NBC Trades Radio City For A Livestream To Give Advertising Companies A Message That Media Companies Still Exist
"Today is not our programming announcement for what will happen," said Mark Marshall, president of ad sales at NBCUniversal, during the videoconference on May 11. "Because we just don't have a crystal ball of how exactly everything is going to happen."
The 2020 Summer Olympics have been canceled for a year, which was supposedly scheduled to air on NBC. On the other hand, it is not yet clear if Hollywood networks will have fresh fall programming since productions were shut down. Yaccarino reiterated that the NBC staple, "Sunday Night Football," is still on-air. "Once we know the details about Sunday nights, you'll be the first to know," she said.
The report stated that the advertising front in the news industry is a grim one. More than $24 billion will be spent by media companies on TV ads in the first half of the year, and potentially $10 billion will be spent in less than the first six months as estimated by the research firm, eMarketer.
