Hindsight Reflections: Upfront and NewFront Follies of 2015

Here we goBest Upfront trends 1 Prepresentation performances From acapella group Vassar Devils at Pop39s breakfast to that trio of singerssongwriters opening BET39s night Steve Lovell Kevin Ross and Elle Varner amp8211 singers set the stage 2 More celebrity and show creatorproducer participation especially at pressdirected eventsWorst Upfront trends 1 Networks participating last year not doing anything this year not even a press debriefing 2 Barring the press from events including Pivot and Oprah Winfrey Network Boo to youBest NewFront trend More variety in presentation formats including Broadwaystyle parodies of topics from social media to Big DataWorst NewFront trends 1 Participating companies more than a third this year not responding to press requests for credentials to their events including Yahoo Fullscreen and Endemol Beyond Plus none of the companies holding events sidestepping Newfronts such as Vox Media encouraged press to attend 2 Programs continue to be announced without indication when they39ll premiereMissed opportunities 1 AMC abstaining from the scene after its extraordinary immersive presentation last spring 2 Hallmark ChannelsCrown Media abruptly cancelling its annual press lunch despite a wave of successes Christmas and Valentine39s Day original movie ratings etc worth calling attention to 3 Syfy following fellow NBC Universal channels USA and BravoEsquireOxygen in doing a press event 4 YouTube in front of 2400plus people at Madison Square Garden saying nothing about future programming thereamp160 5 No participation from the multicast networks including Bounce TVNoticeable absences 1 Cartoon Network and Boomerang at Time Warner39s Madison Square Garden showcase of Turner nets 2 Sprout at NBCUniversal Cable39s coming attractionsformatted event at Javits CenterWelcome back to the fold 1 Spike TV with Dwayne Johnson Ben Kingsley and that amp8220Lip Sync Battlesamp8221 clip of Anne Hathaway rocking to Myley Cyrus39 quotWrecking Ballquot 2 TV One39s wellorganized press lunch at Helen Mills TheaterEvent Space marred by waiters serving lunch while programming chief D39Angela Proctor detailed new series aheadBest UpfrontNewFront debut Whistle Sports at Hard Rock Cafe Energetic wellpaced and plenty of breakfast chowBest downsized event Discovery Communicationsamp8217 breakfast inside On the Park just around the corner from the venue for its spectacular presentations of recent years Jazz at Lincoln Center39s Rose HallBest new Upfront venues 1 The pristine and restored Rainbow Room used by USA for its starpacked press breakfast Let39s see it get more usage in 2016 2 SIR Stage 37 home to ABC Family39s unveiling of its new quotBecomersquot strategyWorst new Upfront venue Ma Pence for National Geographic ChannelNat Geo WILD39s luncheon Fantastic food still remember those veggie rice cakes gnocchistyle but cramped seating Too small overallBest new NewFront venue Four World Trade Center used beautifully by AOL and highlighted by the multiscreen video wall and Cineramalike presentation roomWorst new NewFront venue Dark gloomy portion of Milk Studios for Mode Media Loved the watermelon juice and tuna sliders thoughBest UpfrontNewFront presenterpresentation John Green author of quotThe Fault in Our Starsquot Controversial thoughtful and pungent all the way encouraging advertisers to support content worthy of support whether they get headlines or not His big point If creators don39t get backed by sponsors they39ll find other ways to win audiences and sponsors risk losing themMost controversial UpfrontNewfront opening MTV unleashing quotScreamquot with an unforgettable poolside turn by Bella ThorneBest celebrity participation 1 Jerry Seinfeld39s questionandanswer sessions at Crackle and Hulu 2 Isabella Rossellini riffing on anything on during Ovation39s showcase 3 Dwayne Johnson kicking off Spike TV as chief executive Kevin KayWorst celebrity turn Steve Buscemi39s quotPark Benchquot sketch going nowhere midway through AOL39s eventBest celebrity hosts 1 amp8220NBA on TNTamp8221 hosts Ernie Johnson Charles Barkley Kenny Smith and Shaquille O39Neal had the Turner audience breaking up 2 amp8220Saturday Night Liveamp8221 costar Taryn Killam at Huluamp160 3 Idiotest host Ben Gleib at GSNBest UpfrontNewFront nonmusical moments 1 Former President Bill Clinton39s interview kicking off Univision39s event inventing a new buzzterm radical inclusion in the process 2 The ultimate Big Data explanation from ESPN39s Kenny Mayne 3 John Legend39s manager reflecting on Legend39s career at Pop 4 National Geographic39s NewFront photographer roundtableWorst UpfrontNewFront nonmusical moment Collective Digital Media39s scripted interview involving a Harper39s Bazaar editor and a trio of video content makers Had one not seen the teleprompter in the back of SVA Theater one would have thought everyone was speaking off the top of their heads This idea should have never repeat never gone past discussionBest UpfrontNewFront musical moments pop music division 1 Jessie J39s threesong MTV showcase concluding with megahit quotBang Bangquot Again someone give this superstar a weekly TV variety series She can do it 2 Bruno Mars closing YouTube39s affair with quotUptown Funkquot 3 Daddy Yankee39s workout of a show within Telemundo39s presentation 4 Echosmith wrapping up Nickelodeon39s eventBest UpfrontNewFront musical moments Broadway tune division 1 quotGotta Sharequot Collective39s alltootrue take on social media 2 Sneak peek of the opening number for the SpongeBob SquarePants musical Nickelodeon is developing for Broadway If that Tina Landaudirected song is a good clue for what39s ahead SBSP is destined for Times Square stardom 3 Azteca America39s amp8220Chorus Lineamp8221style number involving its key executivesSpecial UpfrontNewFront music recognition Yolanda Adams and Kirk Franklin39s superb rendition of quotI Believe I Can Flyquot in honor of Bobby Jones about to wrap his longrunning BET gospel series Beautiful and heartfeltAnd last but not leastBest electronic device turnoff announcement quotWe have drones watching youquot Thank you CrackleUntil the next time stay well and stay tunedThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Media Village management or associated bloggers

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Hindsight Reflections: Upfront and NewFront Follies of 2015

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