Fox is getting ready to put on a new show for advertisers.
After scaling back its upfront presentation in 2022, Fox Corporation will return the event to its usual wide-consumption format, moving the event to New York’s Manhattan Center on Monday, May 15. The company intends to focus attention on its broader portfolio of assets that includes Fox Sports, the Fox broadcasting network, Fox News Media and the Tubi streaming hub.
“In a time of such complexity, strength, strategic focus and stability are the foundational elements that lead to success. Fox’s advantage is our ability to focus on what matters most — our advertising partners — and delivering for them, and our viewers, the best content across the industry’s leading sports, entertainment, news and streaming platforms,” said Marianne Gambelli, president of advertising sales at Fox, in a prepared statement. “For this year’s Upfront, we are hosting an in-person event — complete with a new venue and format — to connect with our clients in the most meaningful way, by showcasing the value of FOX’s best-in-class portfolio and its ability to innovate and engage with a wide array of consumers.”
Fox last year raised eyebrows by asking dozens of in-person guests to sit through a presentation that was entirely pre-recorded, spurring attendees to ask why they had to journey to the Skylight in lower Manhattan when they might have gotten the same value from streaming the event at home or the office.
The industry’s annual May week of upfront presentations is likely to be more competitive. Though Paramount Global is removing itself from the glitzy parade of pitches to Madison Avenue, Netflix plans to hold forth, and Alphabet’s YouTube is likely to amplify its participation as well.
Fox said executives from each of its business operations would hold individual meetings with media buyers and advertisers The company held an early meeting during the weekend of the broadcast of Super Bowl LVII, holding a fireside chat with Fox stars Gordon Ramsay and Joel McHale, along with Rob Wade, CEO of Fox Entertainment; Michael Thorn, president of scripted programming; and Suzanne Sullivan, executive vice president of ad sales.