Upfronts: Warner Bros. Discovery touts live viewing for linear networks
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While the Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. union was formed with an eye toward becoming a leading global streaming service, the media company emphasized its strong hand in the linear realm at its inaugural upfront presentation.
On May 18, a year and a day after the proposed merger of Warner Media and Discovery was announced, President and CEO David Zaslav called Warner Bros. Discovery not only the largest maker of TV shows and theatricals in the world, but also the "fifth network" — even though the company does not operate a broadcast network.
During upfronts, content providers look to sell linear and digital schedules to media agencies and their clients ahead of the upcoming TV season.
Chief U.S. Advertising Sales Officer Jon Steinlauf said the company's portfolio exceeds the viewing of CBS (US), NBC (US), FOX (US) and ABC (US) among adults aged 25 to 54.
Kathleen Finch, chairman and chief content officer of U.S. networks group, said the company premieres over 500 hours of programming monthly across its brands. Nearly one-third of all cable 25-to-54 viewers are watching ad-supported linear fare nightly, Finch said.
Moreover, Warner Bros. Discovery is the industry leader in delivering live viewing. Roughly 94% of watching its lifestyle content, news fare on CNN (US) and coverage of the NBA, NHL, MLB and March Madness college basketball action occurs live. Commercials perform better within a live environment, according to Steinlauf.
All told, Warner Bros. Discovery's linear, digital and streaming properties reach over 230 million consumers monthly. Those viewers are "upscale, well-educated and diverse within major demographics," Warner Bros. Discovery said.
With viewers aged 50 and over accounting for over half of U.S. consumer spending, Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to convince advertisers to spend more money against that group. Steinlauf said the company is offering marketers incentives to secure more schedules against 18+ and 25+ watchers.
The company's Premier package, extended from the Discovery ad solution stable, enables marketers to run their commercials in the first position of ad breaks during the premiere episodes of the company's top shows. Steinlauf said Premier offers advertisers lower cost-per-thousand pricing than the broadcast networks while generating 55% more gross ratings points and 23% more reach. The ad solution now extends to sports.
The values afforded by the ad-supported versions of streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+ were also highlighted: They provide incremental reach to the company's linear holdings, as over half the streaming subscribers are cord-cutters.
Steinlauf said that 80% of streaming audiences, whose audiences are younger and more diverse than the company's linear counterparts, watch the services on their TV screens.
Together, the services average under 4 minutes of ads per hour. The light ad load leads to a better viewing experience and receptivity for the messages, executives said.
Warner Bros. Discovery is working with iSpot.tv Inc., Comscore Inc. and VideoAmp Inc., Steinlauf said. The executive described it as a move to develop a multiple currency ad marketplace that "will benefit all of us."
Media sellers and buyers have been engaged in debates about using data from alternate measurement companies as the basis of upfront transactions after Nielsen Holdings PLC came under fire for under-reporting audiences during the pandemic.