Upfront Week 2010 - The Excitement was Back! - Our Annual Rating of the Upfront Extravaganzas

The media industry extravaganza known as Upfront week was back in fine form this year, defying expectations with a renewed emphasis on energy, excitement and emotional engagement. The grand presentations and networking parties that define this annual event had been largely downsized last year under the weight of the sagging media economy, while certain networks (NBC, Univision) had pulled out all together. But everyone was back in play this May in a collective show of rebirth and renewal. All in all it was a very positive week for the broadcast television networks -- and those basic cable networks that inserted themselves into the action, as well.

Some networks were more successful than others at getting their messages across and generating excitement for their fall schedules. That said, we'd like to acknowledge the tremendous amount of work that goes into producing all of these presentations. Even the smallest Upfront event is a massive undertaking.

The following is our annual hindsight critique of all the Upfront action. As always, each network has been assigned a "Jacks" rating after a collective assessment of its overall presentation, clarity of messaging, program positioning, star power and entertainment value. The ratings are as follows:

5 Jacks — Excellent
4 Jacks — Very Good
3 Jacks — Good
2 Jacks — Fair
1 Jack — Poor
0 Jacks — Worse than bad

Exclusive Jack Myers Media Business Report Upfront Coverage by Ed Martin and Simon Applebaum is published exclusively for corporate subscribers. If you believe you are a subscriber and should be receiving the extended members-only version of this report, please contact Jack Myers atjack@mediadvisorygroup.com. For subscription informationclick here.