Shortly after Chappell Roan finished her set at YouTube’s upfront presentation in Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall on May 13, a couple thousand media buyers and advertisers exited the theater into a massive structure, built over the venue’s Josie Robertson Plaza, its iconic fountain sitting in the middle of the space.
Sipping a cocktail by the fountain, in between a 15-foot spread of sour candies and a buffet of small bites created by popular cooking creators, a veteran advertising executive quipped to The Hollywood Reporter that the television upfronts remain a relic of the “Mad Men-era.” A multi-day barrage of wining, dining and wowing meant to persuade brands to part ways with about $30 billion between linear TV and streaming video annually, per a tally from consulting firm Media Dynamics.
But while the upfronts were a creation of broadcast TV (ABC hosted the first one in 1962), 2026 was the year that Big Tech officially took over.
Paramount once again sat the week out, while companies like NBCUniversal, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery leaned into their smaller ambitions.
“We don’t try to do everything, and we don’t pursue scale just for scale sake,” Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch told the crowd at the New York City Center. “Instead, we focus where it matters most, live sports, live news, bold entertainment and ad supported streaming.”
