{"id":318892,"date":"2026-05-16T14:07:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T14:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/318892\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T14:07:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T14:07:13","slug":"2026-tv-upfronts-recap-hi-tech-ad-buying-creator-fever-and-baywatch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/318892\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 TV upfronts recap: Hi-tech ad buying, creator fever and ‘Baywatch’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The television industry has changed dramatically over the last decade, but one tradition that won\u2019t die is the annual gathering of ad-buying execs in Manhattan to hear the pitches of networks and streamers looking to sell their commercial time.<\/p>\n

This past week\u2019s lavish presentations, known as the upfronts, included the usual array of big-name actors (Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jennifer Lopez), NFL legends (Tom Brady<\/a> and Mike Tomlin) and \u201cReal Housewives,\u201d past and present. <\/p>\n

\"Jennifer <\/p>\n

Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein speak onstage during the 2026 Netflix Upfront at Sunset Pier 94 Studios on May 13.<\/p>\n

(Dimitrios Kambouris\/Getty Images for Netflix)<\/p>\n

The selling buzzwords are far different from the days when the presentations were a vehicle for networks to boast about their ratings and present new program line-ups. The 2026 upfronts talked a lot about \u201cconnections\u201d and \u201ccommunity\u201d as the personalized nature of TV viewing brought on by streaming video-on-demand has been fully integrated into the buying and selling of commercials. <\/p>\n

\u201cThree of us could be watching the same show, maybe at a different time, maybe at the same time, but receive very different advertising based on what ad technologies, know about us as an audience segment,\u201d said Josh Mattison, executive vice president of digital revenue pricing, planning and operations for Walt Disney Co. \u201cThe old model would be, hey, did 10 million people watch this ad? \u2029I think the new model is, which 10 million people watch this ad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a sampling of what ad executives were seeing and hearing this week:<\/p>\n

Using new ad tools that target viewers<\/p>\n

Every company presentation touted advancements in the ability to target consumers now that advertising has become the main source of revenue growth in the streaming business. They also played up new services \u2014 such as NBC\u2019s Performance Insights Hub \u2014 providing advertisers with up to date information on the effectiveness of their advertising so they can adjust accordingly.<\/p>\n

Streamers can take the consumer research collected by advertisers and align them with the viewing habits of their subscribers. The data are analyzed in a secure room to protect consumer privacy.<\/p>\n

Netflix doesn\u2019t ask subscribers for personal information in the sign-up process, as it can discourage people from buying the service. But the company does use the viewer habits on the platform to help advertisers reach the customers they seek.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing where there is overlap and use that to help our advertisers target better,\u201d Amy Reinhard, president of advertising for Netflix, told The Times. \u201cIt\u2019s all based on viewer preferences.\u201d <\/p>\n

Every company is turning to AI to respond to the needs of advertisers. NBC now offers them the chance to insert commercials that relate to the action seen on the screen during live sports events. <\/p>\n

Creators are going mainstream<\/p>\n

YouTube\u2019s annual upfront gatherings used to have the feel of an alternative show business universe, with personalities who built their rabid followings on the streaming platform far away from the audiences for traditional TV.<\/p>\n

Now creators such as the sports stunt group Dude Perfect have their own studios. Beast Industries, the corporate home of MrBeast, held its own invitation-only breakfast for marketing executives at a high-end New York venue . YouTube stars, such as Jesser, are landing shows on other platforms.<\/p>\n

At YouTube\u2019s presentation at Lincoln Center, longtime favorites such as \u201cCall Her Daddy\u201d podcast mogul Alex Cooper and \u201cSubwayTakes\u201d host Kareem Rhama appeared on stage to announce new projects on the platform, looking more like established show producers rather than social media renegades. <\/p>\n

Ten years ago, YouTube advertisers had to worry about their spots running next to Islamic State videos.<\/a> Now it\u2019s become common for marketers to embrace YouTube stars and fully integrate products and messages into their programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen creators talk about your products on YouTube, viewers are 13 times more likely to search for your brands and five times more likely to buy,\u201d said Paul Downey, president of Americas & Global Partners for YouTube.<\/p>\n

Mary Ellen Coe, chief business officer for YouTube, told The Times that advertisers can determine if a creator is right for their brand by looking at audience numbers, subscriber data and comments from their communities of fans. But many have their own personal focus groups at home that introduce the hottest YouTube personalities.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of these advertisers have children and teenagers and they go nuts for them,\u201d Coe said.<\/p>\n

YouTube is the most watched TV platform according to Nielsen<\/a>, accounting for nearly 13% of all TV viewing. But that share is much higher among younger consumers.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy kids don\u2019t watch TV \u2014 they watch YouTube,\u201d said Anthony Pedalino, vice president and head of media investment at the ad buying firm Giant Spoon. \u201cSo I think this is a bit of future proofing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other companies are seeking creators for their platform.<\/p>\n

Amazon Prime Video introduced an alternative feed of some of its NBA games on its streaming platform Twitch, which will turn them into a \u201cCreatorCast.\u201d The streamers who are regulars on the site call the action live in an effort to bring in younger fans. The format will be used in WNBA games in the league\u2019s new season.<\/p>\n

Fox touted its creator initiative that develops programs for Tubi, the company\u2019s fast-growing ad-supported streaming platform<\/a> that now has 100 million active users. The company also has a partnership with TikTok to support creators who want to turn their short-form clips into full-length programs.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s always room for comfort food<\/p>\n

Amid all the innovations in ad buying and audience measurement presented during the week, many of the programs and personalities offered up by the major networks and streamers were extremely familiar. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey may be resigned to the fact that people are going to go to emerging platforms for more niche and esoteric programs,\u201d Pedalino said.<\/p>\n

Oprah Winfrey made an entrance on the Beacon Theatre stage to promote the move of her podcasts to Amazon Prime Video. <\/p>\n

Disney rolled out the cast of \u201cScrubs\u201d to announce another 10-episode order of the early 2000s sitcom for Hulu. The series had a successful reboot as Gen Z viewers continue to devour vintage programs<\/a>. Amazon Prime announced \u201cThe Greatest,\u201d a Michael B. Jordan-produced mini-series on legendary heavyweight fighter Muhammad Ali, not exactly uncharted territory. <\/p>\n

Fox introduced a reboot of \u201cBaywatch,\u201d which was canceled after a single season on NBC in 1990, but went on to become a worldwide hit in syndication over the decade that followed. The slow-motion shots of toned lifeguard bodies running into Venice beach waters are coming back without a hint of irony.<\/p>\n

Netflix brought out the set of \u201cPop Culture Jeopardy\u201d at its presentation at Sunset Pier 94 Studios, NBC previewed comedies with proven prime time stars and touted its 100th anniversary which will be celebrated with an old-fashioned variety special later this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The television industry has changed dramatically over the last decade, but one tradition that won\u2019t die is the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":318893,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[64344,17321,133165,133164,133167,48,52,51,133166,47,50,49,2971,9233,5848,592,31830,4576,4567,41188,133163],"class_list":["post-318892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-advertiser","tag-amazon-prime-video","tag-company-presentation","tag-creator-fever","tag-different-advertising","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-lavish-presentation","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-nbc","tag-netflix","tag-network","tag-people","tag-platform","tag-program","tag-streamer","tag-streaming-platform","tag-youtube-star"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/318893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}