NBCUniversal will be hosting a virtual event, “One Industry Update” on 11 May, which will provide updates on the “state of the marketplace.” The media company is among the first of U.S. media giants to organize a formal conference with advertisers to talk about the circumstances surrounding the industry during the Covid-19 crisis. On Friday, it invited media buyers, marketers, and press to hear about how it is innovating to help businesses and industry in general move forward. “We will be sharing the state of the marketplace, provide developments on One Platform, unveil new offerings, and more,” an NBCU spokesperson said.
NBCU said it planned to center the conversation during the event around its efforts to manage TV and digital-video inventory and that executives would answers questions during the meeting. The topics are specifically targeted at advertisers who have declined their sales efforts as a result of the virus. Advertisers in industries such as travel, tourism, and theaters are seeking a way to navigate a climate in which consumers' shelter at home and in consumer spending has been curtailed. Although some TV sponsors are ready to work now, others are pushing their sales processes to take place in September or October, during which they'll for 2021 purchases.
Although NBCU planned to hold its annual upfront presentation at Radio City Music Hall on the same day, sources assured that the updates event is not a replacement and that programmers are looking to mount a separate virtual event given the restrictions on social gathering amid the coronavirus pandemic. NBCU has been trying to facilitate broader purchases of ad inventory across its portfolio and recently introduced a “one platform” concept that consists of buying both linear and digital-video ads continue to seek technology that will let consumers make purchases based on prompts in their favorite TV programs. Despite viewership declines in 2019, the country’s five English-language TV networks saw double-digit rate increases as well as a rise in the volume of primetime commitments, estimated between 5.5% and 7.4%. The networks secured an estimate of between $9.6 billion and $10.8 billion for primetime, compared with $9.1 billion and $10.06 billion in the 2018 market, marking the fourth consecutive year that the networks have seen increasing volume for their primetime schedules. However, the predictions for this year’s upfront volume show that it will take a downward spiral and become flat. Buyers says clients are preparing for recession conditions during which increases in consumer streaming video-programming on-demand likely won’t take place. The network plans to approach the industry’s “upfront” market when TV companies try to sell the bulk of their advertising in advance of the next programming season.