While Yaccarino’s swift exit will cast a shadow over the upfronts, protests related to the Writers’ Guild of America strike are anticipated to recur at events throughout the week, with Netflix choosing to opt for a virtual-only presentation.
At its gathering, NBCU is expected to tout its programming across NBCU’s cable and broadcast channels and streamer Peacock, including the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, which features a distribution partnership with Twitter. The media company will also be pointing to its vast portfolio as a counter to advertisers nervous to commit budgets due to economic uncertainty on stage.
Related: Everything advertisers need to know about Yaccarino
“The legacy concern of putting dollars down and they’re locked down is not as relevant as what it was five years ago,” said Marshall. “The idea of firming up dollars gets overblown in this marketplace.”
That’s because NBCU’s sales model is what Marshall describes as emblematic of modern dealmaking with built-in flexibility and distribution partners across owned and partner digital platforms to give marketers the opportunity to hit audiences consuming NBCU content on any screen.
“A few years ago, there had been a migration of dollars to social,” said Marshall. “We’re seeing a bunch of advertisers now taking their dollars and moving it back [to TV], especially to cable and to sports.”
On May 1, Marshall spoke with Ad Age to discuss competition between TV and social media platforms, the upfront market’s role in the age of programmatic buying and why NBCU isn’t worried about the economy.
This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity
