Sports dominated this year's upfronts, sidelining scripted TV

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https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bu...te-1236217928/

"In the glory days of the TV upfronts, the broadcast networks would build up to a big reveal: The schedule release," says The Hollywood Reporter's Alex Weprin. "The fall schedule would be revealed, and media buyers could get a glimpse of what show would get that prized Friends or CSI lead-in. In 2025, the upfronts still build up to a schedule release, but it isn’t a fall lineup: It’s an NFL game. The only connective tissue between this year’s upfronts, from NBCUniversal and Fox to Disney, YouTube and Netflix was sports, and the NFL in particular, with every company using their presentation to reveal an upcoming matchup that advertisers will want to buy into. Netflix and YouTube each had NFL commissioner Roger Goodell make the reveals himself (though only Netflix made him wear a Santa Claus-esque coat). NBCUniversal used its event to tout the return of the NBA on NBC, bringing out John Tesh for a live orchestral performance of ‘Roundball Rock,’ and stunning the crowd with the news that Michael Jordan would join the broadcast team, or as Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon quipped: 'Good morning. I’m glad to be at the NBA upfront, I mean, the NBC upfront.'"