The Most Memorable Moments of 2021's Upfronts Week

Another upfronts week is in the books. But before you shift your focus to upfront negotiations, let’s take another look back at the week’s most memorable moments, from the shocking (who saw that merger coming?) to the scathing (Jimmy Kimmel’s annual upfront roast), compiled by the Adweek TV team. If you missed any of our comprehensive upfronts week coverage, you can find it here. NBCUniversal The company kicked off its presentation, and all of upfronts week, with an action-movie parody fit for the big screen. The silly, stunt-filled bit featuring NBC late-night stars like Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Aidy Bryant, Kenan Thompson and Amber Ruffin rushing to make it to Radio City Music Hall for the presentation, concluding with Fallon face-planting in front of NBCUniversal chairman of global advertising and partnerships Linda Yaccarino. (“Watch the shoes!” quipped Yaccarino, adding, "Didn’t you hear? It’s all virtual again this year.") After that rousing start, the rest of the presentation was decidedly more muted. —Kelsey Sutton Linda Yaccarino Talks Value of ‘Trust’ in Marketing Partnerships as Tech Platforms Beckon Fox Fox took a playful approach to its event, which was filled with funny moments. Highlights included several spoof ads that ran throughout the presentation, including a faux pharmaceutical ad to help those struggling with “Max+ Syndrome.” The company also tapped its in-house animation studio, Bento Box, to create a segment in which an ad buyer repeatedly failed to get over the paywall at HBO Max while his ads ran in a constant loop on Peacock. An animated ad sales chief Marianne Gambelli closed out the scene by riding away to the upfront on an animated moose, leaving a trail of rainbows. —Mollie Cahillane Discovery Discovery's first upfronts week event couldn’t help being overshadowed by the stunning news one day earlier that the company would merge with WarnerMedia. The bombshell announcement forced CEO David Zaslav to film a last-minute segment inserted at the beginning of the presentation, which had been completed long before news broke of the surprise deal. “This part of the upfront presentation was not planned,” said Zaslav, describing the news as a “momentous, historic day.” The rest of the presentation was business as usual, though Discovery’s claim that it now stands “shoulder to shoulder” with its broadcast peers suddenly seemed a lot heftier. —M.C. Univision This year saw Univision delivering a virtual upfront presentation that was bigger, bolder and more confident than what we’ve seen from the company in recent years. And it’s no wonder: Nielsen ratings are up, there’s new ownership, new leadership (including a familiar face to the global media buying community: new ad sales chief Donna Speciale) and a new streaming service, PredeTV. Plus, it has a big merger of its own in the works: a $4.8 billion deal with Mexican media conglomerate Televisa. As Univision invited marketers to “grow with us,” the company seemed confident that its journey has only just begun. —A.J. Katz Disney Upfronts week wouldn’t be upfronts week without Jimmy Kimmel’s annual roast of the Disney presentation, and the late-night host’s virtual set didn’t disappoint. “The good news is: We have a lot of really funny shows. The bad news is: They’re all dramas,” Kimmel said of his company’s upcoming programming. He also took some jabs at ad buyers—and at rival networks. “[ABC’s reboot] of the Wonder Years follows a middle-class Black family in the late ’60s—and if you don’t buy ads on it, we’re going to tell everyone you’re racist. Speaking of racist, CBS … just a hunch. Just a hunch.” (You can find his funniest jokes here). It’s too bad that Kimmel taped his segment prior to the Discovery-WarnerMedia news; we can only imagine what he would have said about that. —K.S. Disney Looks to Increase Diversity Onscreen, Behind-the-Scenes—and in Ad Buys WarnerMedia The company’s CEO, Jason Kilar, had a lot to say during the virtual presentation to marketers Wednesday—but it all felt a little uncomfortable following the bombshell news of WarnerMedia and Discovery’s merger, and the ensuing report that Kilar, who just joined WarnerMedia a year ago, is already negotiating his exit from the company. As a result, his lines like “We look forward to doing great things together”—filmed more than a week ago—came across as more melancholy than inspiring. The presentation came to a particularly awkward conclusion when Conan O’Brien and Kilar ended with a pre-recorded bit. As O’Brien pitched Kilar on outrageous ideas for his upcoming HBO Max series, a clearly disinterested Kilar left the virtual stage, at which point O’Brien shouted out, “Jason, where are you going?” Good question. —K.S. ViacomCBS Following Disney’s verging-on-two-hour presentation Tuesday, ViacomCBS initially seemed to lay the groundwork for a similarly lengthy event, considering its Celebrity Survivor opening segment clocked in at a whopping 23 minutes. Instead, the presentation came to a somewhat abrupt end after just 40 minutes. But after a long week of upfront events, no exhausted marketer is going to complain because the final presenter opted to tap out a bit early. —M.C.