This is the annual upfronts week, where broadcast networks put on presentations for advertisers to get them interested in what’s on TV… or on the phone, or tablet.
At this morning’s Turner presentation at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, Ad Sales Chief Donna Speciale declared: “In this new world, dayparts are dead.” A bold statement that programmers and buyers are coming to terms with.
CNN was a part of the Turner upfront this morning at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, along with 7 other networks, including Adult Swim, TNT, TBS, truTV, and HLN. (Adweek has more on the full presentation.) Following a Wolf Blitzer heckling from Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Anderson Cooper made the pitch for CNN and HLN. He called CNN “the original disruptor that has evolved once again.”
“CNN is about breaking news and big events. But we’re also about original series, innovation and technology,” Cooper said. “Our programming lineup is fresh and it’s stable.” (So much for dead dayparts.)
Cooper declared “CNN has more hours of live news programming today than at any point in our history.”
He promised robust coverage of the 2016 election “without a partisan slant.” In addition to new shows from W. Kamua Bell and Reza Aslan, two new 2016 series were announced:
- Declassified, hosted by former U.S. Congressman Mike Rogers, is an eight-part series which delves into the true stories of America’s covert operations around the world.
- The Eighties follows in the footsteps of The Sixties and The Seventies (premiering next month).
Cooper called HLN “the all-screens home of the social media generation,” and touted CNNGo as, “The most revolutionary product since the invention of, well, CNN.”
Cooper said once he figures out how to use his Apple Watch, he’ll have a hard time not being connected to work.