Upfront/NewFront Scorecard: The Final Rankings

The list below is in order of the Jack ratings awarded to each eventThe coveted Jacks ratings are as follows5 Jacks amp8211 Excellent4 Jacks amp8211 Very Good3 Jacks amp8211 Good2 Jacks amp8211 Fair1 Jack amp8211 Poor0 Jacks amp8211 Worse than badTo read the actual reviews of each event simply click on the company and its Jack ratingCBS amp8211 5 JacksFrom the Department of Redundancy Department CBS once again was the broadcast network to beat during Upfront Week thanks to its timetested threepronged approach to introducing and promoting its new season schedule on its dayFox amp8211 4 amp189 JacksLike CBS Fox continues to fully embrace the idea that an Upfront presentation is a onceayear allpurpose promotional event that when handled properly is a win for networks talent advertisers and the press alikeNickelodeon amp8211 45 JacksNick has mastered the art of upfront taletelling in an hour or less More notable doing so in an engaging versatile mannerNational CineMedia amp8211 45 JacksWhat worked The overall graphic look Sales and Marketing President Cliff Marks39 contained enthusiasm and a few choice trailers including the latest from amp8220Star Wars The Force Awakensamp8221 What didn39t work Not seeing amp8220First Lookamp8221 in action somehowABC amp8211 4 JacksABC gets our vote this year for Most Improved Upfront Presentation Once again this was the only broadcast presentation that we chose to watch at home via live stream so crisp and clear it allowed all of the excitement on stage at Avery Fisher Hall to come throughThe CW amp8211 4 JacksThe CW offered the briefest presentation of Upfront Week and it once again was a canamp8217tmiss high energy showTurner Networks amp8211 4 JacksOutstanding hosts presentation focus and lookYouTube Brandcast 4 JacksSadly this could have been one of those very rare 5 Jacks events like CBS most years at Carnegie Hall On every level but one YouTube39s Brandcast worked to the hilt thanks to sensational production values and pace and the parade of executivescommentators highlighted by John Green But the one level that did not work was huge not offering any information about this enterprise39s future When it comes to Upfronts or NewFronts that39s one element that should never be overlookedESPN amp8211 4 JacksAllstar 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 unitDiscovery Communications Upfront press breakfast 4 JacksThe extravagant stage antics may be gone for now but the presentation and news value was on solid ground Special kudos to Discovery39s video clip producers who year after year deliver among the best vignettes of any Upfront event Two standouts here The opening quotMoment of Pure Discoveryquot in honor of the flagship channel39s 30th anniversary this summer and Discovery ad sales chief Joe Abruzzese39s amusing homage to the JeanClaude Van Damme quotOnly Timequot messageCMT 4 JacksA fine demonstration of packing message and the supporting news in a reasonable time And Rucker in front of the green space connecting the other side of the NY Times building carried on the tradition of memorable musical CMT Upfront events that have in recent years featured The Band Perry Sheryl Crow Lady Antebellum and othersABC Family 4 JacksWe39ll leave thinking about a network targeting a life stage instead of specific age gender or multicultural viewership to you In terms of environment presentation values and news everything was showcased in appealing fashion Having the networkamp8217s celebrities including the casts of amp8220Pretty Little Liarsamp8221 and quotBaby Daddyquot mingle with the crowd afterwards was another big plusScripps 4 JacksSolid model of how to structure and deliver a presentation with better execution this year on programming clips the first Travel Channel reel was beautifully edited Leave it to Alice Tully Hall to deliver on the space and the foodNBC Universal Hispanic Group TelemundoNBC Universo amp8211 4 JacksDynamic pacing and plenty of news to chew over especially the different scripted programming roads Telemundo and NBC Universo will takeHulu 4 JacksWellorganized and paced effort with good talking points and much news layered throughoutAOL amp8211 4 JacksWhat worked Big quotUnleash Content 365quot video wall welcoming attendees featuring 365 different videos simultaneously great Cineramalike graphic displays commentary from new AOL video president Dermot McCormack formerly of Viacom and no trace of the transportation fiasco that clouded last year39s event What didn39t work amp8220Park Benchamp8221 hostamp8221Boardwalk Empireamp8221 star Steve Buscemi39s sketch which started nowhere and went downhill from thereNational Geographic Digital amp8211 4 JacksWhat worked Classy setting inside Gilder Lehrman Hall kicking off with both photo and video montages roundtable with a trio of Nat Geo photographers each demonstrating the work with a slide presentation big improvement over last year39s event where each subject rambled on and on What didn39t work Premiere dates anyoneScreenvision amp8211 4 JacksWhat worked Charming delivery by CEO Travis Reid and willingness by him and his executive colleagues to do a preevent debrief for press What didn39t work A blandtasting appetizer here and thereWhistle Sports amp8211 4 JacksWhat worked Overall pacing of the presentation moving seamlessly from speaker to videos and branded content involving Gilette and WalMart marching band and dancers opening the event to quotGet Readyamp8221 a big finish using video highlights of fan event at Hard Rock the night before set to quotHow Do You Like Me Nowquot Kudos to the production crew for a quick overnight turnaround on that one What didn39t work There was no onscreen identification of Whistle executives and speakersSpike amp8211 35 JacksSpike made the most of a presentation that was strong on new direction and programming development but weak on critical specifics such as debut datesGSN 35 JacksA bright wellpaced snapshot of the network and how its game focus is expanding Generous celebrity face time was a plusBravo Esquire Oxygen Upfront press breakfast 35 JacksSmooth overview of what all three networks will bring to their viewers this summer and beyond As for E new programming details are coming soonUSA Network Upfront press breakfast 35 JacksWinning combination of space celebrity talent on hand and focus on the network39s big play for Millennials Had USA thrown in some QampampA time the grade would easily be 4 Jacks or betterPop 35 JacksFirst network so far this Upfront season to publicly ask agencies to pull spending from elsewhere Bold tactic for Pop so short into its new existence as fandomcelebrating channel Schwartz did his best to make the caseTV One 35 JacksNice to have TV One back in public via an upfront event nicer to make it happen inside the best use of the Mills space in a long while With a tastier lunch and appropriate serving and this would have been a 4 Jacks event at the leastMTV 35 JacksBeautiful venue the pace and Jessie J39s workout made the event go On the other hand left the Beacon with mixed feelings about leading off with the amp8220Screamamp8221 clip and disappointment with the lack of detail about those 85 projects in developmentOvation Upfront press breakfast 35 JacksGood change of pace from the other late MarchApril presentations geared to journalistsBET Networks 35 JacksThe musical content balanced out a presentation solid on celebration and encouraging ad support but uneven with its original programming detailsMaker Studios amp8211 35 JacksWhat worked The quotWho Are Youquot theme all about finding your voice and anytime chief content officer Erin McPherson talked from one side of the stage to the other What didn39t work Content creators appearing on stage without the audience knowing much about themConde Nast Entertainment amp8211 35 JacksWhat worked Stylish modern set plenty of clips and an opening video exploring how NewFronts would operate in the hands of that oftspoken about Millennial audience Some ideas Vice throws a Queen Mary bash and amp8220The Hunger Gamesamp8221 go live What didn39t work No words on amp8220The New Yorker Presentsamp8221 CNE39s new series for Amazon Studios Also could have used another minute or two to detail a growing TV business four series in production 25 in development and a recentlyannounced firstlook deal with 21st CenturyFoxDigitasLBi amp8211 35 JacksScaleddown exploration of the digital media marketplace continues to be a mixed bag but this edition scored more than not Good stage display and videosPopSugar amp8211 35 JacksWhat worked Fastpaced presentation eyeappealing stage filled from one end to the other with books clothes and memorabilia What didn39t work No specifics on premiere datesNBCUniversal Cable Networks amp8211 35 JacksDifferent 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 ratingUnivision Communications amp8211 35 JacksPolished effort which raised the bar with President Clinton39s presence On the flip side nothing on the future direction of El Rey Network and Fusion beyond brief sizzle reelsNBC amp8211 3 JacksHappily NBCamp8217s Upfront presentation was back at Radio City Music Hall after a sorry sidetrack last year over to the inconvenient and uncomfortable Javits Center There was nothing particularly wrong about this event but it wasnamp8217t all that memorable eitherCrackle 3 JacksThat advertising section jarred the pace and tone set by Seinfeld the Sony executives and a nice bunch of video clipsDefy Media amp8211 3 JacksWhat worked The amp8220what we announce we39ll produceamp8221 initiative from Defy executives good mix of pitches and video clips showcase of amp8220Prank It Forwardamp8221 the breakout shortform series where the pranks lead to inspirational outcomes What didn39t work All that darkness en route to the spaceCollective Digital Studio amp8211 3 JacksWhat worked quotGotta Sharequot a catchy musical spoof of social media usage from group Improv Everywhere What didn39t work That scripted interview covered in an earlier column involving three of Collective39s fashionlifestyle hosts and a Harper39s Bazaar editor If you didn39t glance at the teleprompter in the back you39d assume this interview was off the cuff from start to finish which was NOT the case Azteca amp8211 3 JacksSolid offering and it was nice to see executives let down their guard in song or danceMode Media amp8211 25 JacksWhat worked Great tuna sliders and watermelon juice What didn39t work Dark spooky setting as people ate prepresentation lunch no onscreen graphics giving executive namestitles inandout audio problems with onair talentThe 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 bloggersamp160amp160amp160

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Upfront/NewFront Scorecard: The Final Rankings

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"About That with Carl Mayer:" Alaina Donnellon (Episode 10: Political Spending) - By Carl Mayer

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Upfront/NewFront Scorecard: The Final Rankings

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