NBCUniversal has concluded its 2023 upfront negotiations, making it the first major publisher to do so in what has been the slowest upfront season in years. Key drivers for this year’s talks included sports, Peacock, tentpole events, premium content, advanced, digital and data-driven advertising, and Hispanic and experiential marketing. So how is revenue looking?
Despite economic instability, the company’s total cash commitments are said to be comparable to the previous year’s, when the 2022 upfront reached $7 billion, a record for NBCUniversal.
Sports saw nearly double-digit growth compared to the previous year, with digital properties experiencing a 50% growth largely due to increased sports content on Peacock. Notably, the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup saw double the advertising revenue and record-breaking numbers of advertisers compared to the France 2019 event.
Peacock saw a 30% increase in upfront commitments compared to last year and has grown 60% in the last two years. Telemundo has also seen four straight years of growth at the upfront, almost reaching double-digit growth and producing its highest volume since the 2019-2020 period.
NBCUniversal’s programmatic growth is up more than 50% year over year, reflecting a shift towards data-informed buying across both linear and digital. Notably, insurance, real estate, entertainment, travel, and retail categories have grown to constitute one-third of the total linear Adsmart, NBCU’s advanced advertising solutions. This represents a growth of 25% year over year.
Tentpole events, like BravoCon, the 2024 Paris Olympics, and the SNL 50th Anniversary, exceeded expectations, drawing significant interest. For BravoCon, a larger slate of partners across diverse categories will participate. Sales for the Paris Olympics are almost double those for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at the same point in the sales cycle. For SNL’s 50th anniversary, NBCU plans a full seven-month promotional window and has received partnership requests from multiple categories.
This news comes despite a tumultuous year for NBCUniversal, with changes in key positions and the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike. However, the company maintains that these challenges haven’t significantly affected the upfront negotiations.
Regarding the fall lineup, NBCUniversal plans to balance its content with a mix of unscripted programs, existing popular shows, and new series, whose premiere dates will be announced later.
