Paramount Attempts Live 60 Minutes at Upfront Event

When it comes to Paramount's attempt to pull off a live version of 60 Minutes at its 2022 upfront, it was the thought that counts. Knowing marketers had already had a long week ahead of Paramount's Wednesday afternoon presentation at Carnegie Hall, Jo Ann Ross, Paramount's president and chief advertising revenue officer, U.S. advertising sales, announced at the start of the event that the company would try to get everyone out in 60 minutes. In the end, Paramount's event went over the 60-minute self-imposed time limit by 15-20 minutes, but there was a lot of ground for the company to cover. After all, the Covid-19 pandemic hit shortly after Viacom and CBS merged in December 2019, meaning that the combined company, which changed its name to Paramount in February, never got the chance to throw an in-person upfront week presentation until today. "I'm thrilled to be back at Carnegie Hall as Paramount, with a great story that showcases our broad leadership and expertise as a premium, multiplatform content company," Ross said. "We're transcending platforms with the best IP across every genre and demographic, leveraging our leading broadcast, cable and ad-supported streaming assets to deliver a huge footprint of engaged audiences with the highest-quality video reach for our clients." How Yellowstone Turned Taylor Sheridan Into TV’s Most Prolific and Valuable Creator Paramount structured the event as a special live edition of 60 Minutes, with Scott Pelley, Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and other 60 Minutes correspondents introducing various parts of the Paramount portfolio as if they were 60 Minutes reports. This included everything from reality shows to sports, to the company's Content for Change initiative, which is a commitment that seeks to apply research, data and quantifiable targets to affect societal change. While the 60 Minutes format generally led to a more sedate crowd, the presentation did showcase select shows in several notable moments that left the audience cheering. For instance, the company featured its Yellowstone franchise, along with creator Taylor Sheridan's other upcoming series, to great enthusiasm from the Carnegie Hall crowd. Kevin Costner and Kelly Reilly from Yellowstone, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw from 1883, David Oyelowo from the forthcoming 1883: The Bass Reeves Story—and Sylvester Stallone from the upcoming Tulsa King—all came to the stage to praise their shows and Sheridan's work. Additionally, the cast of CBS' freshman breakout sitcom Ghosts, including Rose McIver, Sheila Carrasco, Devan Long and Rebecca Wisocky, came on stage to perform a comedic musical about Brandon Scott Jone's character, Isaac, wanting a Hamilton-like musical of his own. Ross even popped up in a flashy outfit to join the song, but she arrived a bit too late and didn't get to perform. Her feigned disappointment was palpable. But Paramount has more going on than just Yellowstone or Ghosts. Ahead of the upfront, the company announced more than 90 new and returning series across Paramount Media Networks, including MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, CMT, Smithsonian Channel and Paramount+. With so many projects going on, the upfront couldn't feature all of the company's new and upcoming series. Recognizing this, the company had Patrick Stewart appear onstage with some of his fellow Star Trek captains—Kate Mulgrew, Anson Mount and Sonequa Martin-Green—to urge people to go learn more at ParamountUpfront.com. Staying on message Paramount's star power always came with a message. The event often showcased Paramounts streaming platforms, including Paramount+—which has grown to 40 million subscribers—and Pluto TV, the company's AVOD service, which reaches 68 million global active users monthly and 333 custom channels. Across its platforms, Paramount currently has around 62.4 million total subscribers—and plans to reach 100 million DTC subscribers by the end of 2024. The company also frequently touted its advertising platform EyeQ, which funnels its massive content portfolio through a simple and scaled solution. According to Paramount, EyeQ has grown since its 2020 launch, with more than 80 million full-episode monthly viewers from Paramount+ and Pluto TV. During the presentation, Paramount put on a fake game show hosted by Wayne Brady to focus on EyeQ messaging (the contestants included Nicole Byer, making her third upfront week appearance after previously hitting the stage at NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery's events)—and even iCarly star Miranda Cosgrove appeared in a video to praise the advertising platform. As the event was winding down, Paramount brought out Vanessa Lachey to introduce CBS's fall lineup—featuring the fewest Thursday comedies in a decade—which the company had revealed earlier in the day. The broadcaster has won its 14th consecutive TV season in total viewers—and already has its eye on win No. 15. James Corden, who's leaving The Late Late Show in 2023, also came to the stage at the end of the event. Late-night TV hosts often poke fun at their networks during the upfront events, as Corden's fellow CBS late-nighter Stephen Colbert did earlier in the presentation. Though Corden slightly roasted Paramount for not meeting its goal of wrapping the event in 60 minutes—noting that cutting the self-promoting game show would have done the trick—the soon-to-exit late-night host mostly sang the company's praises, saying, "I knew when I decided to leave the show that I would never work somewhere like this again. "You have many, many choices with how you might spend your money, but I got to tell you, these people, they care deeply. They do. They connect with you and respect your audience," Corden said.

TV Upfronts

Paramount Spotlights Yellowstone Franchise, Attempts Live 60 Minutes at Upfront Event

The company tried to pack everything into an hour for its first in-person presentation since the Viacom-CBS merger

Bill Bradley

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