On Tuesday night, the Paramount Skydance leadership team delivered their upfront pitch to a group of advertisers from Omnicom at Storied in New York City.
The small, intimate gathering of around 100 people, which notably steers clear of the traditional upfronts week held in May, is designed to deliver an experience that is tailored to each specific ad agency. Paramount also holds events in Los Angeles and Chicago.
The presentation itself largely focused on David Ellison’s vision to transform the media giant’s technology, as well as Paramount’s A-list talent and franchises. Among the advertising and tech advancements teased both at the dinner and in TheWrap’s separate interview with Chief Revenue Officer Jay Askinasi were fixed ad units for Paramount+ series, agentic buying powered by AI and a “complete evolution” of Pluto TV, which is slated to take place this summer.
“Our goal is to build a leading media and entertainment company that strengthens competition, better serves the creative community and delivers even more compelling stories to audiences around the world,” Ellison told attendees. “We are doing exactly that by investing in great content and attracting and empowering exceptional talent, both in front of and behind the camera and equipping our people with cutting edge technology that enables them to do their best work.”
Projects that were highlighted during the program included “The Daily Show” and Taylor Sheridan series like “The Madison” and “Dutton Ranch,” as well as the upcoming series “Discretion” starring Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman and “Fear Not” starring Anne Hathaway. And, of course, sports was a major focus, with the company highlighting properties including the NFL, the Masters, March Madness and the UFC.
“When I was at Netflix, we would have crawled over broken glass for a long way to have the kind of IP that Paramount has, and the rich library and the history,” direct-to-consumer chief Cindy Holland told attendees during a conversation moderated by Uzo Aduba.
In addition to in-person appearances by talent including Kelly Reilly, Elle Chapman, Cole Hauser, Ronny Chieng, Ms Pat and Ian Eagle and JJ Watts and a musical performance by Wyclef Jean, advertisers were treated to a short film directed by Jon M. Chu, which showcased other Paramount talent both in front and behind the camera, including Will Smith, the Duffer Brothers and Tom Cruise sitting atop the Paramount water tower.
“We believe deeply in the power of stories to entertain and to connect and inspire audiences everywhere at the same time, all of this in all of us in this room understand that we’re competing for something incredibly scarce, attention, and attention only comes .When audience audiences truly care about what they are watching. That’s where the opportunity lies,” Ellison continued. “When storytelling and marketing are aligned, something really powerful happens. Brands stop feeling like interruptions and start becoming part of the experience. It’s no longer just about reach. It’s about resonance. In a world of endless choice, our goal at Paramount is simple: to connect what audiences love with what brands need. That’s how we help you capture attention in a crowded marketplace and turn it into lasting impact. We are deeply, deeply grateful for your partnership, and we’re incredibly excited about what we can build together.”
The New York City presentation comes as Paramount is set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a $110 billion deal that is expected to close in the third quarter pending regulatory and shareholder approval.
“It’s not going to impact anything in this year’s [upfront] negotiations. We are still going through regulatory as is well documented,” Askinasi told TheWrap. “Clients ask, quite frankly, not as often as you think, because they know we can’t do much about it. But we’re super excited about the potential opportunity, the marketplace is excited about it and we’re all hopeful.”
WBD shareholders are set to vote on the merger on Thursday morning.
