Putting on a show
The television “upfronts” begin this morning with NBCUniversal’s presentation at Radio City Music Hall.
“Over three short days, from Monday morning to Wednesday night, eight companies will razzle-dazzle advertisers in a reassuringly familiar set of theaters across Manhattan,” Deadline’s Dade Hayes writes.
Networks and streamers will be seeking big upfront $$$ commitments from advertisers in a period of profound macroeconomic uncertainty. “This year, the shifts are coming largely from within,” CNBC’s Lillian Rizzo writes, with talk about “how AI is being integrated into the ad buying experience,” and how corporate shuffles are reshaping the industry.
CBS parent Paramount is forgoing a traditional upfront again this year, having recently wrapped up a series of dinners with key ad clients. But Warner Bros. Discovery (CNN’s parent) is holding its regular Wednesday event while Paramount awaits regulatory approval to take over WBD.
Fox Corp and Amazon show off their wares later today; Disney, Univision, and Telemundo present on Tuesday; and WBD, Netflix and YouTube go on Wednesday.
Media giants will be hyping sports and other live TV events, of course. THR’s Alex Weprin says they’ll also be promoting shows from digital creators, quoting an ad exec calling it “the TikTok-ification of TV.” Weprin predicts the word of the week will be “fandoms” as Disney, NBCU and other companies try to deepen fan engagement…
NBC orders ‘Wordle’ game show |
One of NBC’s many programming announcements today is about a game show based on Wordle being green-lit for production. The show’s host Savannah Guthrie and executive producer Jimmy Fallon unveiled the news on “Today” a few minutes ago. What a moment for The New York Times: It is now in business with NBCU on a prime time game show that’s slated to premiere next year, and that might be just the beginning, since NBC’s press release notes that “the ‘Wordle’ format will be licensed globally by NBCUniversal Formats.” >> The global ambitions may explain why the American version is being produced in Europe this summer. You can apply to be a contestant here, BTW… >> NYT CEO Meredith Kopit Levien says Wordle on TV “reflects our broader approach of creating experiences people return to and share every day.” |
The upfronts are going to be “a week-long NFL victory lap,” CNBC’s Alex Sherman wrote last week, “with one big media company after another touting their NFL games.” Sherman reported that Roger Goodell “will be at the Disney upfront,” since the company is selling ads for ESPN’s first ever Super Bowl. Some of the NFL’s broadcast partners will announce key games during their on-stage events, and the full season schedule will come out mid-week, Sherman added.
>> Following up on our lead story last Friday about Rupert Murdoch leaning on President Trump to put pressure on the NFL: “Trump criticized the NFL’s media deal in an interview on ‘Full Measure’ on Sunday, saying that the cost of watching the league could ‘ruin the game,’” The Athletic’s Rebecca Tauber wrote. >> On the Fox earnings call just now, Lachlan “said there is no tension between the company and NFL. I have a feeling sports and media reporters whose ears have been ringing might beg to differ,” the WSJ’s Joe Flint tweeted. |
Meet the ‘YouTube whisperers’ |
Writing about upfronts week now means checking in on YouTube. CNBC’s Zach Vallese and the aforementioned Alex Sherman have an outstanding new story about “YouTube whisperers,” consultants who advise creators “on how to keep videos viral.” They say strategist Paddy Galloway’s “secrets often center around two simple concepts: headline and thumbnail image.” >> Thought bubble: A generation ago, the “secret” was to come up with a catchy TV show title so that people would stop channel-surfing and start watching the show. The more things change, the more they… |
Also coming up this week… |
Tonight: The Webby Awards take place in NYC… Also tonight: Stephen Colbert hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon and John Oliver on “The Late Show…” Tuesday: This year’s Eurovision Song Contest begins… Thursday: David Letterman visits his successor Colbert… |
’ABC accuses FCC of impinging on free speech’ |
That was the Page One NYT headline about this extraordinary legal letter. ABC enlisted prominent conservative attorney and Supreme Court litigator Paul Clement for what might look like a procedural paperwork battle with the FCC, but which is actually a major showdown over the role of government in regulating the media. At issue is “The View” and whether it qualifies as a “bona fide” news interview program under the “equal time” rules. The clash “could lead to a protracted, high-stakes legal battle over free expression,” the NYT’s John Koblin and Jim Rutenberg wrote… |
‘Courage over capitulation’ |
Here’s my explanation of the situation for CNN.com. ABC says it has been abiding by “equal time” rules, but that Brendan Carr’s FCC is suddenly redefining what’s exempt and what’s not. And it’s suggesting – though not explicitly saying – that the timing of the FCC’s license challenge is fishy, to say the least. ABC wants the FCC to affirm that “The View” does still qualify for the “equal time” exemption to avoid further harm. The agency says it will review the matter, and it’s no secret that Carr (and his MAGA media allies) want to have this fight. Anna Gomez, the lone Democratic commissioner at the FCC, cheered for ABC: “I’m glad Disney is choosing courage over capitulation.” |
Inside the Daily Wire’s decline |
WaPo’s Drew Harwell has a great look at Ben Shapiro’s The Daily Wire as it “faces contentious layoffs, ideological battles and dwindling relevance online.” There was a time when the right-wing media company seemed to have cracked the code for MAGA-era digital media, but now, Harwell writes, its year-over-year traffic has cratered, and its subscriber base has “plateaued or shrunk” since Trump 2.0 began. Shapiro sent Harwell a statement acknowledging revenue is down compared to 2024, noting, among other things, his firing of Candace Owens that year, who has since built a huge audience of her own with conspiracy-soaked shows. Shapiro knocked both Owens and Tucker Carlson in this passage: “While much of the rest of the ‘conservative movement’ decided it was a good idea to clickwhore by embracing radical Islam, theorizing about the evils of Winston Churchill, extolling the wonders of Russian supermarkets, and mocking the widow of Charlie Kirk… we decided not to do those things. If that’s a strategic business failure, then I guess we can live with that…” |
”Left-leaning news organizations have gained momentum in Trump 2.0 with podcasts and digital outlets seeing stronger reach, funding and audience engagement,” Kerry Flynn writes for Axios. >> Last night, Don Lemon announced new hires for his Lemon Media Network, including his first DC correspondent, Spectrum News alum Daniel Grimes. |
Netanyahu on ‘60 Minutes’ |
CBS landed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s first US broadcast interview since the Iran war began. It was taped on Saturday and featured on “60 Minutes” last night — another quick-turn exclusive interview for the newsmag under Bari Weiss. Netanyahu “is keenly aware of declining support for Israel” in the US, correspondent Major Garrett said in the report. The “deterioration” of support, Netanyahu told him, “correlates almost 100% with the geometric rise of social media. And that by itself is not what caused it. And I — I don’t believe in, you know, in censoring them or anything. But I’ll tell you what happened. We have several countries that basically manipulated social media. And they do it in a clever way. And that’s — that’s something that has hurt us badly.” A moment later, Netanyahu said, “Israel is besieged on the media front, on the propaganda front, and we’ve not done well on the propaganda war…” |
Trump is mad at Fox again |
Trump spent part of Mother’s Day ranting on Truth Social, with multiple posts targeting Fox News, all because Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna appeared for an interview on “The Sunday Briefing.” “No matter how ‘Fair and Balanced’ the day’s News at Fox may be, the end result is destroyed by professional Liars, Conmen, and Liberal, Crooked politicians. This is why MAGA Republicans, who are actually close to 100% of the Party, hate Fox, despite the wonderful contributions made by so many of their great anchors and commentators,” Trump wrote, before seemingly suggesting Fox has an obligation to help the GOP win the midterms: “Hard to win elections like this!” |
No news about WHCD do-over |
There hasn’t been any news in the past week about a potential rescheduling of the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner. The WHCA board “is having active conversations about rescheduling the event,” Weijia Jiang told the NYT’s Elisabeth Bumiller, who reports that “one option favored by numerous White House correspondents is a lunch or more modest dinner, at least this year, to celebrate the award and scholarship winners.” >> Bumiller also quoted Trevor Hunnicutt of Reuters, a member of the board, saying “it’s a very complex decision that involves finances and security and all kinds of other considerations, so we are taking our time to make that decision thoughtfully.” |
>> TheWrap editor in chief Sharon Waxman has joined the NYT Opinion section as a contributing writer. “Thrilled to be able to expand TheWrap audience and expertise to such a prestigious platform,” she says. >> “Ofcom will probe GB News over a Donald Trump interview after all,” Max Goldbart writes. (Deadline) >> “Elon Musk’s X is getting into the World Cup daily vid game with a series led by soccer journalist Fabrizio Romano,” Max Goldbart reports. (Deadline) >> Tim Lister and Aida Karimi report that “Iran’s two-tier internet access fuels anger and exposes cracks in the regime.” (CNN) |
>> “OpenAI is being sued by the family of a victim killed in the April 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University that left two people dead,” Angela Yang and Laura Jarrett report. “The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI’s ChatGPT enabled the attack.” OpenAI has pushed back on the claim. (NBC News) >> Justin Lahart writes that “AI can’t agree on which jobs AI might destroy.” (WSJ) >> Dua Lipa “has filed a $15 million federal lawsuit against Samsung, accusing the electronics manufacturer of using a photo of her face on television packaging without her permission,” Josh Dickey writes. No comment from Samsung. (TheWrap) >> Nintendo shares took a dive today due to this news: The company is hiking “the retail price of the Switch 2 after forecasting a decline in sales for its flagship console as the memory chip crunch hits the Japanese gaming giant.” (CNBC) |
‘Adolescence’ wins big at BAFTAs |
The Netflix drama “Adolescence” was the top winner at the BAFTA Television Awards last night, winning a record four awards, “with ‘The Celebrity Traitors’ and ‘Last One Laughing’ also scooping a share of the glory,” the BBC’s Ian Youngs reports. >> “The current affairs prize went to ‘Gaza: Doctors Under Attack’ after it was pulled by the BBC last year, which the broadcaster said was because of impartiality concerns,” and “was later shown by Channel 4 instead,” Youngs adds… |
A historic sweep for ‘The Studio’ |
At the BAFTAs last night, Apple TV’s “The Studio” “added the final marquee trophy to one of the most dominant awards runs in modern television history,” Variety’s Clayton Davis writes. “After taking home the top prizes at the Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, The Actor Awards, PGA, DGA and WGA, it has now cemented its place in history as the most decorated freshman comedy ever produced.” |
A few more Hollywood headlines |
>> “Disney’s ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ retained the No. 1 spot on domestic box office charts despite three major new releases, including the video game adaptation ‘Mortal Kombat II,’” Rebecca Rubin writes. (Variety) >> Noah Kahan’s “The Great Divide” is enjoying “a second week atop the Billboard 200.” (Billboard) >> The depiction of OnlyFans models in the latest season of HBO’s “Euphoria” has “rankled real-life OnlyFans creators, who already find themselves subject to enough mockery and scorn due to their line of work,” Marlow Stern reports. (Variety) |
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST… |
This piece in the June issue of The Atlantic, released online today, originated as a “Letter to the Editor” from 93-year-old writer Fran Moreland Johns. It was then adapted into an essay about American patriotism and optimism. “For nearly a century, I’ve been privileged to watch the fits, starts, and swings of that optimism: the forward leaps of science and technology, the backward falls into tragic wars, the sidesteps into misguided ideologies,” she wrote. “But the collective effort behind those hot cross buns and front-porch flags? That is still who we are, if we choose to be.” |
Related Knowledge Center: State of the business model
The traditional journalism business model has long since collapsed, and news organizations have shrunk or disappeared entirely. While a number of promising experiments are under way, the public has not shown a willingness to buy what news organizations are selling.