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Warner Bros. Discovery took the upfront stage last Wednesday amid a swirl of unknowns, including the fate of its NBA rights package, the future of the Venu sports streamer and the viability of its bundle alongside Disney.
However, the company also made one thing particularly clear: After a writers’ strike and a complex merger, WBD’s full potential is finally becoming apparent.
In particular, the media company unveiled one of the strongest slates of content of any television network or streamer. The bonanza of forthcoming franchises—including new seasons of House of the Dragon, White Lotus and And Just Like That—will hit Max in tandem with a bevy of blockbuster theatrical titles, such as Dune 2, Furiosa, Wonka and Joker 2. New titles, including The Penguin and The Sympathizer, add further heft to the portfolio.
With such a “hot hand,” as ad sales chief Jon Steinlauf calls it, WBD internally referred to its upfront last week as the IP Upfront, a chance for it to showcase these moments as opportunities for brands to reach viewers during a moment of heightened attentiveness.
ADWEEK’s post-upfront conversations (see Disney, TelevisaUnivision, Fox, and NBCU) continue with Steinlauf, who told us about WBD’s 2024 upfront event, the commercial opportunities available with the company’s “Screen to Stream” strategy, and the backstory on how CNN landed the first presidential debate live during its Wednesday morning presentation.
What were the main priorities, in terms of messaging, that WBD wanted to communicate at the upfront?
It was split between the power of our intellectual property and our advanced advertising capabilities.
For my portion of the presentation, we wanted [HBO Chairman and CEO] Casey Bloys to lead me because Casey was going to talk about the Original Series, which he did, and I was going to tell advertisers what they could do around that. I was also able to pick up on the theatrical opportunities and fold them into that larger conversation. What we are offering advertisers—an opportunity to sponsor theatrical releases and original series when they debut on Max—is something we have never done before.
