Upfront News and Views: ESPN, Turner, NBCU Cable

ESPNVenue Minskoff Theater near Broadway and Times Square This annual breakfasttime event wouldn39t be what it is without college and professional team mascots or cheerleaders greeting all comers all over the space Or once inside the theater the pregame show being staged in a box off to one side hosted for the second year by quotHis ampamp Hersquot cohosts Michael Smith and Jemele Hill wonderful Grade 4 JacksPresentation Various riffs expanding on this year39s motto quotThe ESPN Impressionquot quotAll impressions are not equalquot declared Global Customer MarketingSales President Ed Erhardt quotThe experiences matter and real audience passions matter Fans don39t see the lines between TV radio digital or mobile They just see us While other networks are sharing about the challenges they39re faced with we39re sharing growthquot Executive Vice President Eric Johnson picked up the point other programmers have made this Upfront season about the value live viewership continues to hold in an era of DVRs and bingewatching Meantime leave it to ESPN anchorpersonpundit Kenny Mayne to blow the big conversation about Big Data throughout this event period wide open and Sunday NFL Countdown contributor Frank Caliendo to break everyone up with his Jon Gruden take amp8211 right next to Jon Gruden Grade 4 JacksNews Scott Van Pelt will take over the midnightEastern time quotSportsCenterquot as solo host late summer emphasizing more live guest interviews and commentary Then next February quotSportsCenterquot will launch a twohour morning block from 79 am Eastern time formatted after the popular quotTop 10quot highlight recap on other editions The launch will be timed with a big move ESPN239s quotMike and Mike in the Morningquot will originate from above the quotGood Morning Americaquot Times Square studios amp8211 and the creation of an ESPNABC combo ad sales plan for messages on all three programs ESPN also will simulcast its National Football League wild card game next January with ABC a year after the NFL carved out that coverage window Grade 3 JacksHost Bestpaced effort yet by both ESPN executives and talent with great contributions from new quotCollege GameDayquot host Rece Davis and quotSportsCenterquot anchorpeople Hannah Storm and Lindsay Czarniak Grade 4 JacksOverall Grade 4 Jacksamp160 Allstar mix of executive pointmaking talent mixing with sports celebrities like Darrelle Revis and Dwayne Wade and top production values Special kudos for starting out with the National Anthem performed by Jordin Sparks with a local color guard unit And here39s another nominee for best UpfrontNewFront line this season delivered from the audience by NFL analystquotSunday NFL Countdownquot regular Cris Carter quotI39m more than a data point C39mon manquotamp160Turner Networks Venue Madison Square Garden Theater home of YouTube39s Brandcast event two weeks earlier Coffee bottled water and donuts served in the lobbies Striking blackandwhite backdrop on stage consisting of all the Turner logos below the quotTurn It Upquot slogan Personalities and celebrities from TBS TNT etc were seated in the front rows Grade 35 JacksPresentation With a unity equals strength approach Time Warner39s cable programming unit emphasized the ability to reach all demographics anytime on any platform quotConvergence has arrivedquot noted Turner Ad Sales President Donna Speciale quotData and content have officially hitched amp8230 and we39re prepared for this critical inflection pointquot A few sports motifs were sprinkled in from Speciale and her colleagues introduced as a team by MSG39s New York Knicks courtside announcer to the event being framed by pregame halftime and postgame sequences handled by TNT39s Emmywinning NBA studio team of Ernie Johnson Kenny Smith Charles Barkley and Shaquille O39Neal more on them below complete with their catchy theme music For an event billed as the coming together of all Turner nets it was surprising that Adult Swim had a fair share of showcase time but Cartoon Network and Boomerang relaunched a few months ago with plans to have original series for the first time had zip Grade 35 JacksNews Turner Networks dropped a ton Both TNT and TBS will launch campaigns to double the number of original series by 2017 Moreover each channel will swing to more adventurous drama and comedy concepts respectively with TNT skewing more female promised Kevin Reilly the former FoxFX programmer now presiding over TBS and TNT Up first in the Reilly era quotThe Alienistquot an eightpart mysterythriller from quotTrue Detectivequot director Cary Fukunaga and quotForrest Gumpquot writer Eric Roth quotERquotquotThe West Wingquot executive producer John Wells will make a pilot based on the family crime film quotAnimal Kingdomquot while quotWillquot the young William Shakespeare effort under development at Pivot for two years written by Craig Pearce of quotMoulin Rougequot fame comes over for another shot at series life TBS will morph into a mix of comedy animation unscripted and sports via a brand reposition from the current quotvery funnyquot starting later this fall Relationship game quotSeparation Anxietyquot will join earlierannounced comedies quotAngie Tribecaquot and quotThe Detourquot on TBS39s fall schedule Ensemble comedy quotWreckedquot and Samantha Bee39s new issueoriented talk show will premiere in 2016 Also under consideration Conan O39Brienguided prospect quotThe Groupquot about people abducted by aliens TruTV will extend its cuttingedge comedy format over the next year with at least two new series investigativeminded quotAdam Ruins Everythingquot and unscripted quotThe Driver39s Seatquot Coming early 2016 on CNN quotRace for the White Housequot narrated by Kevin Spacey quotBelieverquot and quotUnited Shades of Americaquot hosted by W Kamau Bell Grade 45 JacksHosts Move over Jimmy Kimmel you39ve got competition now when it comes to funny Upfront personalities Johnson Smith Barkley and O39Neill kept the audience in hysterics throughout thanks to the biggest burst of offthecuff commentary we39ve witnessed in recent years at any event So plentiful and ontarget were the laughs no one seemed to mind that the show went overtime Nice contributions from CNN anchorperson Anderson Cooper and Billy Eichner whose quotBilly On the Streetquot gamecom moves over from Fuse to truTV in a few months Grade 5 JacksOverall Grade 4 Jacksamp160 Outstanding hosts presentation focus and look Had Cartoon Network and Boomerang received showcase time instead of a few seconds of video clips this would be have been a 45 or 5 Jack eventamp160NBCUniversal Cable EntertainmentVenue Javitz Center39s North Hall same as last year and a nominee for most improved staging of 2015 A year ago NBCUniversal used the whole space to seat the crowd then had them empty into a backyard fooddrink area that took forever to reach The hall was divided in half this year seating at the north end of the hall with the fooddrink area taking up the south half helped by white sofas and plenty of space for conversation More than 160 celebrities participated on the red carpet next door with E doing a Webstreamed quotLive Fromquot special wellhandled by Maria Menounos and Ross Matthews The stage had elements of IMAX and Cinerama with videos and graphics extending around the crowd on both sides Grade 4 JacksPresentation NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Chairman Bonnie Hammer labeled her event one where quotwe show you not tell you our storyquot One by one in true quotcoming attractionsquot style USA Bravo E Oxygen Esquire Network and Syfy served up a trio of new series videos introduced briefly by Nick Cannon Giuliana Rancic and Andy Cohen Three notable deviations NBCU ad sales chief Linda Yaccarino pictured at top left with Hammer announcing parent Comcast will allow usage of settop box data from cable subscribers to help craft sponsor arrangements with all NBCU networks a segment on World Wrestling Entertainment39s quotFor the Hero in All of Usquot campaign and an elaborate song satire from performer Rob Cantor accompanied by classical musicians ballet dancers and choir Another nominee for best Upfront musical number of 2015 Still why no time for Sprout given their major talent had front row seats and popular puppet Chica of quotThe Chica Showquot had a few seconds of clip time Grade 4 JacksNews USA showed off the sizzle reel of quotQueen of the Southquot its adaptation of Spanishlanguage sibling Telemundo39s hit novela quotLa Reina Del Surquot which received a series greenlight early last week Alice Braga who plays the title character looks like a breakout star to watch All the other highlighted series at this event were previously announced Grade 1 JackHost Cannon Rancic and Cohen were smooth if unremarkable throughout Grade 3 JacksOverall Grade 35 Jacksamp160 Different presentation approach supplemented by outstanding graphic displays making the most of that IMAXCinerama look Some revelations on series under consideration at these networks would have increased the Jack rating And how about showing Sprout more loveA reminder of our Jacks ratings5 Jacks amp8211 Excellent4 Jacks amp8211 Very Good3 Jacks amp8211 Good2 Jacks amp8211 Fair1 Jack amp8211 Poor0 Jacks amp8211 Worse than badNext up Univision NBC39s Latino networks and AztecaUntil 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 MediaVillagecom management or associated bloggers

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Upfront News and Views: ESPN, Turner, NBCU Cable

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