EMARKETER reports that 2025 UpFronts will yield just over $16b, lower than than any of the past five years. This year, it's not just the effect of streaming, social, and programmatic that's reducing advertisers' appetite to commit budget up front. The economic uncertainty around tariffs and consumer confidence presents advertisers even less of a reason to commit to spending months in advance.
The traditional height of advertising spend comes at the UpFronts. Traditionally a time in April and May when advertisers hear about all of the exciting content media companies have in store, the UpFronts now compete with the NewFronts and the PlayFronts.
The very concept of committing media budget up front is losing popularity. As more consumers move from linear broadcast TV to streaming, the big media companies don't draw the same huge predictable audiences that they used to.
NBC's top primetime show "Chicago Fire" averaged just 5.6 million viewers last season. Compare that to 10 years ago when their top show "America's Got Talent" averaged twice that. Today, major media companies cater to audiences across linear and streaming with much more diverse programming, and the fall lineup just doesn't matter as much as it used to.
Of course, $16b of UpFront commitments in 2025 is nothing to sneeze at, but given that it's about $1b less than 2024, it's important to consider what advertisers are shifting their budgets to. The NewFronts and PlayFronts do grab some attention and increase investment. In addition to the traditional digital giants, streamers and TV companies including Tubi, Vizio, LG, and Google were at the New Fronts.
Advertisers don't just want guaranteed placement on top shows or a nice package deal. More and more, they want flexibility. Flexibility means a few things:
These requirements for a more flexible advertising strategy are only amplified during the current political uncertainty. The good news is that advertisers have a lot of choices. Most of the NewFront media companies don't require the same hefty commitment ahead of time as linear media companies.
Streamers at the NewFronts offer advertisers a nice discount and a lot of flexibility to decide how and where they run their ads throughout the year. Advertisers looking for flexibility to reach audiences on a flexible schedule also have retail media, social media, and programmatic buying on the open web.
Spaceback gives advertisers the flexibility they need to reach audiences with relevant timely creative when and where they are. Using social and influencer content, advertisers can generate an engaging creative quickly and be live on CTV and across the web when they want to be.
With Spaceback, advertisers can also tap into the trust consumers have for influencers and social media. When the world seems to be upside-down, advertisers can connect with their audience using authentic content that's relevant and timely.
We also work with some of the biggest media companies out there. Advertisers can access all of this through our partners like Comcast Universal Ads and Roku and unlock the scale and attention of streaming.
We're built for flexibility so that advertisers have more control and can be more relevant to their audience. If you want to see more, click here.
