A slew of networks canceled their upfront presentations that were set for May’s “Upfront Week” amid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. CBS, NBCUniversal, The CW, Fox, WarnerMedia, Disney and Discovery all scrapped their in-person events on Thursday.
The companies will now present their upcoming slates to ad buyers digitally. NBCU’s and Fox’s upfront were scheduled for May 11, while Disney and Discovery’s were supposed to be held on May 12. CBS and WarnerMedia were each set to go two days later on May 1, with The CW’s upfront slatted to close out the week on May 14.
Upfronts are a critical event on the industry calendar, when top advertisers get to see the upcoming fall television slates ahead of placing large advertising buys.