NBCUniversal Emphasizes Trust and Talent in Upfronts Week Kickoff

Marketers, meet NBCUniversal’s most loyal viewers. Ad viewers, meet NBCUniversal’s loyal marketers. NBCUniversal executives promised to make those introductions for Madison Avenue clients during Monday afternoon's upfront event, the company’s third formal presentation to marketers in three months since holding a One21 showcase. The previous presentation highlighted its bulked up ad-tech offerings in March and was presented at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s NewFronts in April. During the presentation, which marked the official kickoff to what is expected to be a busy upfront season, NBCUniversal underscored why its big audiences trust them and why that presents a big opportunity for advertisers looking to win those audiences over. “These stories you heard about and the talent you met today are why people spend more than 100 billion hours with us every year, and that number just keeps on growing,” Linda Yaccarino, NBCUniversal’s chairman of global advertising and partnerships, said. “These stories are why audiences have been coming back to us for almost a century. They're why people trust us. That trust is the foundation of our company. It’s an enormous responsibility, and our partners have the opportunity to build on that trust, because when we come together, the impact is multiplied.” Yaccarino’s pitch—echoing the same message about trust she sent marketers last week—came after a fast-paced and talent-packed virtual presentation in which NBCUniversal highlighted the upcoming programming that will span its broadcast, cable and streaming outposts. Instead of working through its presentation by segment, NBCUniversal highlighted its programming offerings across genre, focusing on scripted, unscripted, tentpole events, sports and news. All of these extend across platforms, channels and services, a reflection of the company’s new streamlined structure implemented last summer that looks to be more platform-agnostic and flexible. 'Some of the best content we've had in years' And while the broadcaster has looked to evolve its business structure and its tech stack to be more attractive to marketers, the programming line-up, which this year will be more robust now that most programs are again in production, is aimed at serving viewers who have more choices than ever. “We have some of the best content we’ve had in years,” Susan Rovner, NBCUniversal’s newly minted television and streaming chairman, entertainment content, said during the presentation in an interview with Today show host Hoda Kotb, who emceed through much of the presentation. The broadcaster leaned into its deep bench of talent to promote much of the network’s fall programming line-up. Besides Kotb, daytime show host Kelly Clarkson lent her hosting talents to introduce the company’s fall line-up of scripted series, which will include the final seasons of drama This Is Us and comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine, along with new midseason comedies including Grand Crew and American Auto. Kevin Hart, who will be working on the Peacock talk show Hart to Heart, also spotlighted some of the unscripted fare coming to NBCUniversal and its cable properties like Bravo. Pop culture extraordinaire Andy Cohen reviewed some of the networks’ tentpole event programming, including red carpet coverage and in-person events like BravoCon, which is set for Oct. 15. NBC took the wraps off its franchise-heavy fall schedule last week, which was notably absent of comedies and This Is Us. It also included a paring down of unscripted competition season The Voice to one cycle instead of two cycles per season. NBCUniversal is also using its burgeoning podcast properties as a content pipeline. NBC’s broadcast side is bringing The Thing About Pam to the network later this year. It'll be a six-episode true crime series starring Renée Zellweger based on the case that became a hit on Dateline NBC and Dateline’s first true crime podcast series. Meanwhile, the Wondery-produced podcast Dr. Death, also centered on a true crime story, will come to life as a scripted adaptation on Peacock. A sports triple-feature The company also highlighted the big audience opportunity presented by the unusual back-to-back-to-back line-up of the Summer Olympics and a Winter Olympics broadcast, which will overlap with NBC Sports’ airing of Super Bowl 56. That unprecedented programming line-up, which executives have previously told Adweek represents a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity, will serve as a launchpad for all the network’s programming, from its news coverage of the tentpole events. It’s one of the reasons why NBCUniversal is holding on to some of its comedies for later in the season when they can capitalize on the marketing muscle of those major match-ups, execs said last week. “NBC Sports will be there right in the middle of it,” legendary NBC Sports sportscaster Mike Tirico said. “There’s so much to look forward to.” NBCUniversal Unveils 6 New Ad Formats Ahead of Upfronts