• by Wayne Friedman , March 31, 2020

Some light at the end of the tunnel for TV and digital media companies seemingly will come as the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s NewFront presentations are now rescheduled for the week of June 22.

NewFront presentations -- from a number of digital media companies -- had been scheduled for April 27-May 6. They were postponed on March 11 due to COVID-19. At the time, the IAB had said it would offer a virtual streaming option to presenters.

Earlier in the month, TV networks -- Fox News Channel, AMC Networks and A+E Networks -- said they would postpone or cancel their events.

Later in the month, all planned upfront events -- especially the big broadcast/cableTV upfront presentations set for the second week in May -- were shelved, and have not been rescheduled as live in-person presentations. However, a number of TV networks -- including Fox Television Network, Disney’s ABC, The CW and Discovery, NBCUniversal, ViacomCBS, WarnerMedia, and others -- are offering up some version of a digital video presentation, streaming and/or on-demand.

Dates and times are to be decided.

TV upfront presentations are previews of new programming for the upcoming season where big brand marketers commit to spend around 70% of their yearly TV media budgets for the September-August TV season. Typically, a total of around $20 billion in TV spend is placed in a June-August period for the upcoming season.

NewFront presentations scheduled this year included: The New York Times, BBC News, Twitter, Vudu, Roku, Conde Nast, Verizon Media, Vice Media, Ellen Digital Network, Meredith Corp., Amazon, Digitas, YouTube, and Hulu.

IAB said that moving to the date of June 22nd “will give publishers time to be creative, fine tune their messages and do their best work.”

In rescheduling the NewFronts, David Cohen, president of the IAB, in a statement, said: “We’re having extensive conversations with both buyers and presenters about how to leverage this year’s unique challenges to create something that’s not just ‘OK, all things considered’ but really and truly better.”

Cohen adds: “Our goal is to create a dynamic marketplace that connects buyers and sellers in a way that allows ample time for development, a robust platform for delivery, and safety for all.”