The one-time special episode of 30 Rock that NBCUniversal put together for its 2020 upfront presentation won a Bronze award at the Cannes Lion Festival.

The 2020 upfront was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, cancelling the traditional live theater presentations NBCU made by and the other major television companies.

Other networks put together virtual presentation based on Zoom, but NBCU decided to put together a special episode of 30 Rock, the popular sitcom set at a dysfunctional TV network owned by a clueless cable company. The episodes actually aired on NBC’s TV stations in primetime.

“The 30 Rock Upfront special was a massive company-wide effort—from the incredible cast, to our amazing leadership team, to Studios to Distribution to Entertainment and so many more,” said Linda Yaccarino, NBCU chairman of global advertising and partnerships, in a post on LinkedIn talking about the award. “I still can’t believe it was all shot on iPhones during a pandemic!”

Yaccarino noted that an integration NBCU’s creative partnership team worked on, Laundry Night for Procter & Gamble’s Tide, also won a Bronze Lion.

“In such a competitive year, these honors are a complete testament to the power of innovation, collaboration, and creative storytelling. Congratulations to all of the teams on these one-of-a-kind collaborations,” she said.

National television networks sold 15% less primetime advertising in the COVID-impacted 2020-21 upfront, according to preliminary estimates from Media Dynamics.

The upfront, completed just weeks before the start of the TV season, totaled $18.6 billion, Media Dynamics said, with $8.71 billion going to broadcast and $9.92 billion going to cable.

Media Dynamics estimates that of the $21.87 billion in upfront commitments made for the 2019-20 season, $3 billion was cancelled as businesses closed down and the economy went into recession during the second and third quarters of 2020.

“Once we adjusted our upfront ad spend figures to account for these cancellations, the sellers did quite well,” commented Ed Papazian, president of Media Dynamics, Inc. “2020-21 upfront ad revenues for the broadcast networks and cable channels were down by only 2% compared to the amounts that advertisers actually spent—less cancellations—for the 2019-20 upfront.”

Media Dynamics notes that because many buyers negotiated more favorable cancellation clauses as part of their new upfront deals, if a second wave of COVID-19 disruption hits during the fall and winter, major portions of flannel upfront spending may again be cancelled.

This year’s unusual upfront market was stronger than expected, according to NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell.

Speaking on parent company Comcast’s third-quarter earnings call Thurday, Shell said things didn’t look good for the ad market in the middle of the pandemic.

“We didn’t think a couple of months ago there was even going to be an upfront this year,” he said. “And the fact that there was one and it ended up being relatively normal and much stronger than we expected was really good news for the whole business.”

Related: Networks Declare Victory in Unusual Upfront Market

Shell said that at NBCU expected that upfront pricing would be “way down,” but when negotiations finished, pricing ended up slightly on a cost-per-thousand (CPM) viewers basis. Volume--or total commitments to buy advertising--was down slightly from last year.

During the third quarter, ad revenue was down 11.5% at NBCU’s broadcast business and down 2.1% at its cable networks.

Lower ratings were having the biggest impact on sales and Shell said that the industry-wide shutdown of production because of COVID-19 was a factor in having fewer viewers. 

“We would normally have our fall schedule in high gear right now, and we’re just starting those shows and we don’t have a lot of new content,” he said.

Shell noted that the lower ratings translated into scarcity and that with its broad portfolio NBCU could take advantage of the demand in the marketplace.

The timing of the launch of NBCU’s Peacock streaming service was “kind of perfect” at a time when other new over-the-top platforms are not ad supported.

NBCU’s decision to consolidate all of its sales under advertising chairman Linda Yaccarino was also fortuitous “because it gives us the opportunity to sell and address that scarcity across multiple platforms.”

In an unusual market influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, 60% of advertisers said they bought less advertising in this year's upfront than last year, but gained flexibility from the networks by being able to secure options to expand their buys during the season at upfront prices, according to a new survey by Advertiser Perceptions.

While there was some talk about either changing the timing of this year’s upfronts or getting rid of them altogether, the advertisers and media buyers in Advertiser Perceptions said they found the traditional commercial bazaar still useful in some form.

Related: Networks Declare Victory in Unusual Upfront

About two-thirds of advertisers said they believe TV needs an organized marketplace like the upfront where they can negotiate high-volume deals. The main reasons they participate in the upfront are access to preferred rates and unique program offerings.

The advertisers were split around when the upfront should be held next year. One third favored a calendar year upfront, where annual buys start Jan. 1, 30% want multiple theme events throughout the year and 28% want the traditional spring upfront with the advertising year starting in October.

Only 7% said they wanted the upfront canceled altogether.

Because of the pandemic, the networks were forced to cancel the in-person presentations usually held in venues like Radio City Music Hall and Carnegie Hall. The networks instead held virtual events, and 75% of attendees found those online events “as effective or better than in-person events.”

The timing of the upfront market was not the most important issue to advertisers. Outcomes measurement was the top concern for 57% of those surveyed, 52% prioritized more accurate audience estimates and 50% want more transparency in measurement. Just 22% said they were concerned about upfront timing.

“The real issue around the Upfront is measurement and transparency, which is at a critical crossroads for the TV business,” said Andy Sippel, executive VP at Advertiser Perceptions. “Digital media are accustoming advertisers to more granular measurement of audience and potential impact. Advertisers want more of this from TV, and they’re more concerned with the terms of the deal than the timing of the negotiation."

The upfronts are about TV, but digital advertising is eclipsing TV in both spending and influence. Nearly 60% of advertisers say that digital and mobile video are now more important to their advertising success than TV in any form, including linear, streaming and connected.

“Although people are spending more time with more kinds of video across channels, the content that advertisers most want to put their brands in remains a scarce opportunity,” said Justin Fromm, executive VP business intelligence at Advertiser Perceptions. “The content that can attract a brand’s priority audience consistently is hard to make, and not everyone can do it well. Advertisers will continue to line up for it in upfront marketplaces.”

Advertiser Perceptions interviewed 301 advertisers – 150 marketer and 151 agency executives – in July 2020 for its 2020 Upfront Report.

There has never been a year like 2020 and there’s never been an upfront like 2020’s.

At this point they’re not saying it out loud, but buyers and sellers say the 2020-21 upfront auction of ad sales has concluded, just in time for the start of the fall season. Network executives said it wasn’t as bad as it could have been and professed to be pleased about how resilient the TV advertising market was during a pandemic. 

“We got all the deals done. Most of them came in very late,” said one network advertising sales executive. “It’s been a long process, but it ended well for us.”

This optimism is hard to quantify, and comparisons to previous years are difficult to make, because of big changes in the market. Ratings this year include out-of-home viewing and the networks were selling tons of new digital inventory, which makes past pricing and volume numbers irrelevant.

“The numbers are very muddy this year, not just because of out-of-home but because the digital side of the business has expanded a lot,” said a sales executive who, like several individuals quoted in this story, asked not to be identified by name because of company policies against commenting on contract negotiations.

Of course, even in a “normal” year, the smoke-and-mirrors numbers that surface after the upfront aren’t predictive of what media companies will report as advertising revenue when their earnings reports come out.

All Sides Sought Flexibility

“The big push and pull was around flexibility, and of course price,” an agency media buyer said. “Agencies wanted much greater flexibility. The networks came back and said, ‘What’s the point of upfront then?’ So I think there were definitely some concessions on flexibilities overall, but not as much as requested.”

“To get the market moving, the networks needed to incent our client to put budgets together with all the uncertainty they were facing,” another agency buyer said. Options moved from 60 days to 45 days. Some upfront buys moved from 25% cancelable to 50%. And while fourth-quarter orders were firmed up, some clients have until October to lock in exactly what they’re paying for during Q1 through Q3. 

“There was definitely pressure to make TV more digital in terms of flexibility and option terms,” A+E Networks president, ad sales Peter Olsen said. “There was a blending of digital terms and TV terms.” 

The bottom line, according to people engaged in the market, is that volume in the upfront finished down about 10% to 15% for linear TV, while prices on a cost-per-thousand viewers (CPM) basis again managed to increase, disappointing some buyers and clients. Last year, $23.9 billion was spent in the upfront auction of ad sales, including $10.2 billion on broadcast ads and $11.7 billion on cable, according to Media Dynamics.

”It was probably the equivalent of a low- to mid-singles market, which is not disastrous in an economy like this,” A+E’s Olsen said.

“In all of our key categories, in entertainment, and sports and news, we’ve achieved, depending on the client, low to mid single-digit price increases across the board,” Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch boasted at the Bank of America investor conference earlier this month. “That’s a tremendous result.”

Deals were made much later in the process — closer to Labor Day than to the Fourth of July, when media buyers start to begin their summer vacations because the upfront is wrapped up. One big reason for the delay was buyers waiting to see if sports, particularly NFL football, would be played. One network finished a deal on Sept. 18, just two weeks before the commercials are scheduled to air. Details are still being ironed out as the new terms both sides agreed to get parsed.

There is still money waiting to be spent. Ad executives expect this year’s calendar upfront — ads bought for the year starting in January — to be significantly larger this year and to be negotiated in October, a month earlier than usual.

“A large percentage of that 15% [decline in volume] are advertisers who moved to calendar, or scatter, and just needed more time, as opposed to stopped buying TV,” an agency media buyer said. “So at the end of the year, it won’t be down 15%, I don’t think.”

On top of that, prices are still hovering 10% to 20% above upfront in the scatter market for ad inventory not committed during the upfront auction.

“We’ve withheld; we’ve probably sold about 5% less volume than we would otherwise have done, say, last year and we’re comfortable doing that because of the strength in the scatter market,” Murdoch said.

None of that could have been predicted earlier this year.

Upfront’s Obit Was Premature

People were just learning about COVID-19 on March 3, when Fox News Channel canceled an upfront event scheduled for March 24. A week later, when NBCUniversal, Fox, ViacomCBS and The Walt Disney Co. canceled their lavish annual May upfront presentations and parties, it was clear the coronavirus would have a huge impact on the TV advertising business.

For a time, there were questions about whether or not there would even be an upfront — or a new television season to run commercials in. There were surveys and estimates that predicted ad spending could plunge by 30%, which in fact did happen in the early days of the recession caused by a virus that kept people at home and shut down businesses. 

“The prognostication in April that there’s never going to be another upfront, that this is going to be the end of buying and selling as we know it, that didn’t really come to fruition,” John Halley, chief operating officer of advertising revenue at ViacomCBS, said at Future’s Advanced Advertising Summit.

Procter & Gamble made a big stink about it being time to change the upfront and shift to a calendar upfront. But the packaged-goods giant quietly went to the networks and cut early deals, looking to get better pricing. 

“I’m surprised they didn’t get called out for that,” a network executive said.

Media agencies saw an opportunity to reset the market and get lower prices. “There was this narrative early on the minds of clients,” a network executive said. “They were thinking there was going to be a rollback. You were hearing 20%, ridiculous numbers.” 

Most of the networks dug in their heels and eventually, buyers had to put their money down and get their clients on the air. One buyer said the turning point was when COVID shut down television production. “In our models, supply went from being down 15% to being down 18%, 22%, 25%,” an agency media buyer said. “All of a sudden, it became a seller’s market.” 

“Yes, there were concessions made around flexibility,” Halley said. “It had to be done.” But in the end, the market “landed in a place that supported the model that we work under,” he said. Pricing moved in a positive direction and, “depending on what parts of the business you’re talking about, the volume was also there.”

On top of pricing, some agency executives were annoyed the networks waited until after many deals were struck to announce when they would start to air big hits, like NBC’s This Is Us. 

Nielsen threw a brief monkey wrench into the market when it said it wouldn’t be adding out-of-home viewers to its 2020-21 ratings as planned, a move that would lift audiences of entertainment programming by anywhere from 3% to 6%, network executives said. The networks erupted and Nielsen quickly reversed its course.

Digital inventory was also a big factor with ViacomCBS owning Pluto TV, Fox buying Tubi and The Walt Disney Co. taking control of Hulu.

One market participant estimated that linear volume was down 15%, while nonlinear revenue rose 50%. That leaves overall revenue down about 10% because, last year, media companies got 90% of their revenue from linear and 10% from nonlinear. This year it will be 80%-20%. “Advertisers are following the audience,” the participant said.

With their new OTT services, the networks can also offer buyers top shows like Fox’s The Masked Singer at better prices when they stream and attract a younger audience than when they appear on broadcast.

They could also offer buyers better pricing on broadcast if they agree to increase the dollars they’re spending on their streaming platforms.

“The nonlinear space is creating a lot of discounts,” a network executive said. “The dream that these companies have is that the streaming services are going to take off. And then you can reconfigure what the business really is.”

Talks Get Personal

Negotiating an upfront during a pandemic turned out to be a more personalized experience, some executives said. While the big presentations and parties were replaced by Zoom calls, negotiations tended to be more one on one with senior execs as the stakes grew and deadlines neared.

“A lot of times our negotiations are done with a group of us in one room and a group from the agency in another room, but this was a lot more one-on-one discussions than large group with large group,” one network executive said.

Where does this upfront market leave the business? 

“Well, we all had had to be flexible,” a network executive said. “But we also have to manage our business, and I think we’re going to learn whether we can live with what we’ve agreed to.”

One buyer said he remains concerned that the networks can’t do anything to keep ratings from continuing to fall. “Our retail clients don’t want their fourth quarter schedule to underdeliver and to get make-goods on some digital channel in January,” the buyer said.  λ

Usually, the upfronts are equal parts theater and deal-making. This year was definitely a different story. The 2020 upfronts have shown the acceleration of the trend toward data-informed audience-based buying, combined with the unprecedented need for flexibility around both options and cancellation windows. Time will tell what these twin disruptions mean, but in the wake of the 2020 upfronts, we should focus on asking the right questions about the future of our industry.

What’s the product and how is it being transacted?

The upfronts grew out of a linear television model where content was king and it served as the singular proxy for how demographic audiences (e.g., adults 25-54) were reached. Today, content still rules the kingdom, but the audience is now the product. 

How did this happen? Over more than a decade, the application of data and technology have combined to unlock the capability to reach both demographic and secondary audience targets (e.g., auto intenders) at scale, across content, regardless of channel or device. That capability overlaps with the declining legacy model, but we’ve long since passed the tipping point. 

Today, neither channel nor content needs to be the sole proxy for reaching a desired audience, if you have the necessary data and technology to transact around target audiences.

If there’s a silver lining to Zoom upfronts, it’s this: without glamorous presentations, buyers and sellers can prioritize a new model for reaching target audiences in ways that are agnostic in terms of content as well as how audiences consume that content. In other words, while Zoom upfronts feel like a diminution of tradition, they’re actually a hack that allows us to accelerate the paradigm shift. And once the marketplace fully adopts the new channel and content-agnostic paradigm, buyers and sellers can collaborate to rethink how transactions work.

How do you plan when there are so many unknowns?

Even in “normal” times, upfront planning requires predictive capabilities and access to granular planning data. But these aren’t normal times. According to a June 2020 Nielsen report, time spent consuming digital content increased 215% year-over-year. The same report found Americans watched one billion additional hours of connected TV during March of this year versus last year. But here’s the really shocking thing: even though that data came in last quarter, it already feels out of date because there’s so much uncertainty at this moment.

The questions I think about are: Will those numbers hold over time? If not, when will they change and by how much? What happens now that there is a second wave of lockdowns? What about the content supply? Certainly content has been impacted by production disruptions from weekly TV series to live sports.

Spoiler alert: we don’t know the answers to these questions. But the uncertainty only highlights the value of planning intelligence capabilities. Access to real-time audience viewership data and insight into supply availability are even more important now, because they empower buyers and sellers to make faster decisions. At the same time, dramatic shifts in audience behavior underscore the need to further vet historic ratings models and align them to real-time market conditions. 

Ultimately, we’re going to experience fluid market conditions for an indefinite period of time. It will be difficult to predict or model. However, as an industry, we need to recognize the importance of flexibility for us and our partners, so that we can move forward with collaboration and agility.

How do we maximize flexibility?

In order to have win-win outcomes, buyers and sellers need a more flexible upfront reservation paradigm that delivers audiences at scale, across content, devices, and platforms. Shifting to a rolling upfront model creates flexibility by allowing buyers and sellers to transact as close in time as possible to execution. 

In this new paradigm, sellers should focus on managing yield by packaging granular cuts of audiences across linear TV, CTV, digital and mobile. By taking a holistic approach to audience packaging, sellers effectively guarantee that the audiences buyers want will be available, regardless of what happens in terms of shifting audience behavior or content supply issues. That’s incredibly valuable, and by emphasizing yield, sellers can capture that value. 

On the buy-side, advertisers can maximize flexibility by focusing on audiences everywhere. In this audience-centric approach, advertisers use the intelligence gained from one channel to inform their decisions elsewhere. For example, digital informs linear TV, and vice versa. To accomplish this flexibility, advertisers may have to accept higher CPMs, but they’ll see far less waste in their media plans and less duplication as they pursue incremental reach.

Can buyers and sellers come together in this difficult moment? I think so. The most hopeful sign from the Zoom upfronts is that buyers and sellers are already thinking collaboratively about the future. And they’ll continue to do that important work—on Zoom, Slack, email, and with a little luck, face-to-face in 2021.

ViacomCBS couldn’t put its stars on stage, so it put them in a video.

In the first part of its virtual upfront presentation, the media company employed its on-air talent to make the point that the merger that combined Viacom with CBS late last year made the company “simply stronger” together.

The message was driven home with Zoom appearances by everyone from Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell at CBS News, to Jim Nantz and Tony Romo from CBS Sports, to James Corden, Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah from late night to entertainment programming stars like Tom Selleck, Kevin Kostner, LL Cool J, JoJo Siwa and Iain Armitage.

The video message was made necessary by the Coronavirus, which prevented people from gathering in person in places like Carnegie Hall, where CBS usually holds its upfront this time of year.

Colbert noted that the virus has forced many businesses to make difficult choices and change the way they work. That includes ViacomCBS, led by Bob Bakish and George Cheeks. “By the way, if your cheeks seem backish, see a physician immediately. That’s one of the symptoms,” Colbert cracked.

Monday’s message was mostly about the company’s cable channels, but there was also a primer on the advanced advertising products that Viacom pioneered and CBS is adopting.

ViacomCBS president for advertising revenue Jo Ann Ross was grilled by 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker.

“For some time now 60 Minutes has been looking into advanced advertising. What we have uncovered is a strange cult with a language of their own. Followers who revere advanced advertising speak in sentences littered with cliches like targeting, optimize and powerful,” Whitaker said. “But 60 Minutes research uncovered something else, something more unsettling. Many in this cult nod their heads in unison when they hear phrases like optimize against reach, drive conversion and path to purchase. We have met many characters over our fifty two seasons: world leaders, scammers, sports stars and pop stars. But nothing prepared us for the queen of advanced advertising herself ViacomCBS's Jo Ann Ross who promised to explain it to us.”

“At ViacomCBS we are leading the way with advanced advertising with Vantage our advanced ad platform,” Ross said.

“Sure anyone can download a mixed integer linear programming algorithm, but unless you know how to refactor mixed data types into linear constraint packages. You just have no game,” she explained.

Ross said she has taken time during the quarantine to brush up on her advanced analytics.

"It's hard to believe how much time I've spent thinking about how to dynamically fluctuate the alpha values in elastic net regressions to trade off mild parsimony and coefficient dampening within ratings projection engines," she said. "You know, really really it helped me to relax. I really had fun with the data.”

On Tuesday, ViacomCBS plans to do part two of its upfront and release CBS’s primetime schedule.

“I for one am very excited about it. Let's be honest. It's been months since any of us have had plans two days in a row,” said Corden. “I so wish we were all together right now in New York City taking selfies in that weird room at the plaza, eating as much frozen yogurt as I can get out of those machines.”

On a somewhat more serious note, Corden noted the role television is playing during these socially distant times.

“All over America, there is one thing that brings us together every time. That little box in the corner of your living room. Well that and the fact that we've all gained like 15 pounds,” he said.

“Television is the thing that can give us the collective experience we have been so sorely missing. For information on what's happening, come together and watch our news. When you need some laughter, come together and watch our comedies. When you want some excitement come together and watch our dramas,” he said. “And when you want to see what some of the biggest celebrities in the world look like when they do their own hair and makeup you can watch our late night shows here. Nobody is excluded. You are part of this network and you're part of our family.”

Whenever advertisers are ready to make their upfront buys, A+E Networks has programming ready for them.

At a time when the COVID-19 crisis has bottled up production, Paul Buccieri, group president at A+E Networks, said his channels are in production 52 weeks a year. They have more than 1,000 hours of content that hasn’t been on the air and another thousand hours in post production.

That’s enough content to take A+E Networks all the way through the third quarter of 2021” Buccieri said. And it’s big name content. Producers and stars working for A+E including President Bill Clinton, Robin Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeff Foxworthy, Betty White and Jamie Lee Curtis.

“In a time of uncertainty, we’re providing certainty,” he said. At A+E, advertisers can buy shows their familiar with, or watch full episodes of shows that haven’t been on the air yet.

“I think that’s a differentiator between us and some of our competitors, who don’t have the product produced yet.”

A+E produced a star-studded virtual upfront tape back in March. Peter Olsen, A+E’s executive VP for ad sales said it’s collected more than 500 views.

“I think clients have been impressed with this kind of continuity message,” Olsen said. “We can point to what the content is going to be.”

Olsen said that recent conversations with clients have started to sound like typical pre-upfront conversation. “There’s been that hint of optimism and normalcy returning to the dialog,” he said.

“Some clients want to go down the path of innovation and targeting and guaranteed outcomes. Some just want to go back and get their spots on the air,” Olsen said. “We’re taking a flexible approach and really listening to what their needs are, timing-wise. Whether it’s this summer or this fall or in between, we’re prepared for all those scenarios.”

In terms of programming, A&E Network has a new live series coming up, an auction series hosted by Jeff Foxworthy called What’s It Worth? Live.

Speaking of live, the network has ordered 160 new episodes of Live PD.

A&E also has a new project with WWE called The Quest for Lost WWE Treasures.

History is announcing a documentary series with President Clinton that will explore the history of the American presidency. The network is expanding its partnership with Appian Way, RadicalMedia and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin by greenlighting three miniseries: Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and The Men Who Built America 2, executive produced by DiCaprio.

History is also teaming up with foodie Adam Richman for a second season of The Food That Built America. Richman will also be hosting a new series with the working title American Made, about the creators of America’s most groundbreaking inventions.

Lifetime is marking its 30th anniversary of original movies this year and has more than 50 new movies set to premiere over the course of the rest of 2020.

Talent involved in the latest crop of films including Jamie Lee Curtis, Robin Roberts, Kelly Rowland, Mario Lopez, Melissa Joan Hart and Betty White.

Curtis is executive producing, directing and staring in How We Sleep at Night: The Sara Cunningham Story, which is a true story about a devout Christian mother who comes to terms with her son being gay.

White will be in one of Lifetime holiday movies. Despite the production issues affecting the industry, Lifetime expects to have as many holiday movies as last year. Christmas films will feature Kelly Rowland, Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez.

Lifetime is also working on a third movie about the formerly royal couple with the working title Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace.

Instead of a single big presentation--virtual or otherwise--Disney Advertising Sales is planning to use a series of 30-minute roadshow videos to make its pitch to media buyers and clients.

Disney’s traditional Lincoln Center event, along with the other big upfront extravaganzas, were wiped out by the Coronavirus, which ruled out large gatherings and now has most media people working from home.

Disney is planning seven presentations during the weeks of May 25 and June 1--one for each of the six big media agency holding companies and one for clients that deal directly with Disney or work through smaller agencies.

The presentations will be tailored to each of the agencies, with talent from Disney programming acknowledging the buyer and clients in the room.

“We want to make it a little bit more personal and intimate in terms of the conversation,” said Rita Ferro, president of Disney Ad Sales.

The presentations will focus on how Disney created client solutions and will address how Disney worked with clients during the crisis and plans for continuing to grow partnerships, Ferro said.

Disney’s Hulu unit will be a part of the presentations. Hulu will also have presentation during the Digital Content NewFronts the week of June 22.

Disney acquired control of Hulu last year and Hulu’s head of ad sales, Peter Naylor left Hulu in April.

Ferro said that Hulu will be a part of clients ad packages in this year’s upfront. “We’re going to do one deal,” she said. “We’re looking at ways the Disney side can add value to how Hulu goes to market and really taking advantage of the innovative ad products and learnings on the Hulu side to help our addressable business on the Disney side.”

Streaming has become a hot property, and Hulu is a leader in the ad supported streaming space, but Ferro sees clients making one premium video buy across all screens, which is good considering the quality and scale of Disney’s content and distribution on all platforms. With Hulu, 35% to 40% of Disney’s inventory is addressable, she notes.

How and when this year’s upfront negotiations will take place are still to be determined.

“I think the key this year is going to be flexibility in every sense of the word,” Ferro said.

In terms of timing, Ferro noted that some companies are doing very well, and will want to move aggressively. “We need to be able to do that now and move quickly, she said.

Other companies will need a little bit more time to figure out what the back half of the year looks like for them. “We’ll be ready whenever they are,” she said.

And some will want to do calendar deals that run from January through December, instead of the broadcast year, which starts with the fourth quarter.

“If that’s what works for them, we’ll be available to do that,” said she. “We just need to have that open-mindedness and flexibility.”

Right now, advertisers are considering whether or not to exercise their options not to buy the third-quarter advertising they committed to buy in the last upfront. Ferro said clients are already asking till the end of the month to exercise those options, and Disney is granting those postponements. So far, options have been better than expected, but it’s still early, she said.

“There was clearly a rush to adjust campaigns and schedules and everything at the beginning of all of this six to eight weeks ago. I think what you see now is clients trying to re-engage in terms of what their business looks like as things are starting to turn on,” she said.

Some clients that moved out of the second quarter early in the crisis are looking to come back, she added.

Disney can certainly sympathize with businesses that have been affected by the pandemic. Disney’s first quarter earnings were pounded as its parks and movie business were shut down by the virus. “I understand holistically as a media partner because I sit in a company that’s been highly disrupted. We understand what they’re dealing with because we’re dealing with it too,” Ferro said.

In some ways the innovations that companies made to keep their businesses afloat during the crisis--including using more real-time data and shortening supply chains, has Ferro encouraged. “I’m excited about what the future is going to be, but I’m not closing my eyes to the hard reality of what the impact has been to our clients.”

Will this year’s approach to the upfront mean a different way of doing business next year? Ferro said it was too early to speculate.

“We’re always open to any opportunity to look at things differently,” she said.

But Ferro noted that clients spend a lot of their ad dollars on sports and with NFL and college football starting in the fall, the traditional upfront schedule might give clients a good opportunity to look at the sports budgets in the context of their overall marketing plans.

ViacomCBS is planning to hold a virtual upfront on May 18 and 19.

The COVID-19 pandemic canceled the traditional glitzy upfronts held in theaters in May and ViacomCBS is the first to schedule a virtual replacement, which is its dubbing “ViacomCBS Upfront @Home".

Other programmers, including Fox and Discovery are doing smaller upfront presentations aimed at particular media buying agencies and clients.

The upfront will mark the first time Viacom and CBS will go to the upfront market together following their merger at the end of last year.

“Since we know most of you continue to work remotely and we want to be mindful of your time, the “ViacomCBS Upfront @Home” will be a series of short virtual presentations over the course of two days,” said ad sales ViacomCBS president and chief advertising officer Jo Ann Ross in a note to media buyers and clients.

“On Monday, May 18, we will present many of the combined assets and leading solutions from ViacomCBS that are now at your disposal, in addition to a first look at compelling content opportunities across our Entertainment & Youth and Kids & Family brands, BET, Pluto TV and our robust digital offerings,” Ross said.

ViacomCBS will adapt to clients’ timelines in terms of when and how upfront negotiation and buys will get done. “We’re here for you whenever you’re ready,” Ross said.

Ross, who had been head of sales for CBS, said that her team and Viacom’s have come together quickly.

“This incredible progress gives me optimism for the days ahead. We have already achieved what we hoped to accomplish in bringing our sales organizations together – one team with a unified mission to provide you with the most powerful, seamless advertising solutions in the industry,” she said. “We are simply stronger together. More premium programming and culture-defining franchises spanning every content category... distributed across more complementary platforms...with more creative and sophisticated capabilities and more digital inventory... to help you connect to all of your consumers with our massive reach across every audience.”

Ross noted that she’s rather be inviting buyers to a dinner, or to CBS’s unusual upfront at Carnegie Hall. “Clearly, the current climate is different,” he noted, “but as they say at Carnegie, the show must go on!”