Univision Communications Inc. during Upfront Week once again proved how much it focuses on all audience experiences with an interactive Upfront event (see video below), inventively immersing guests in activities and displays tied to its programming and inviting everyone to “Eat. Drink. Explore.”  “Last year we decided to shake things up with the Upfront format” said Steve Mandala (pictured above), President of Advertising Sales and Marketing for UCI.  “We got such a positive response, we decided to take the same approach this year.”

A year after covering the Upfront arrivals on the blue carpet for then Turner Networks I was back to grab both business conversation and banter with the stars and star execs of the now larger entity, WarnerMedia.  This 20-minute episode of the podcast is a quick series of chats with everyone from the Chairman himself, Bob Greenblatt, and President of Ad Sales, Donna Speciale, to celebs and showrunners across the properties.  The transcript below has been edited for clarity so listen here to get all of their valuable comments and quips.  Even better, please subscribe to Insider InSites wherever you get your podcasts (Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, GooglePodcasts, Stitcher or TuneIn).

Although half of the media world will not disappear on November 12, 2019, there is little denying that it will be changed forever.  On that day, Disney and Fox assets will be pulled from Netflix, including all of the Disney Animations, Avengers, Star Wars, Pixar movies and Disney Channel TV shows.  Additionally, by opening the entire Disney Classics Vault and producing several originals based on beloved IP -- not to mention including binge-worthy content, such as the first 30 years of The Simpsons -- Disney is not engaging in any kind of “hobby” with their direct-to-consumer OTT play.  The cherry on top?  The top revenue-generating movie of all time, Avengers: Endgame, will only ever be available on Disney+.

More than once during Upfront Week, as I was preparing to leave an event, a network sales chief turned to me and said, “Now the real work begins.”  It was a simple statement that reminded me yet again of something more and more people in the industry realize with each passing year:  There seems to be no point to these deluxe presentations.

The final week of the Upfront/NewFronts event cycle included an appeal on Wednesday from the cinema advertising specialists at Screenvision Media.

At the stroke of 10 a.m. last Wednesday morning, the annual, always entertaining Upfront event featuring Time Warner's Turner channels became the opening public display for WarnerMedia's gallery of TV and digital initiatives, now on parent AT&T;'s watch.  Moreover, if any of the thousands of attendees present were expecting clues over how WarnerMedia will shape its forthcoming direct-to-consumer venture -- to be distributed early 2020 via multichannel operators and smart TV sets/TV-connected products -- they were rewarded with a tidbit or two.