• by Wayne Friedman , March 26, 2008

Keeping to its word, NBC will hold a brief upfront programming presentation on April 2 in New York City.

NBC, the fourth-place network among 18-49 viewers, has said it would unveil not just a fall programming lineup but a 52-week schedule. The invitation listed Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff, co-chairmen of NBC Entertainment and Universal Studios; Mike Pilot, president of NBC Universal sales and marketing; and Marianne Gambelli, president of Network Ad Sales.

The invite said the event, at NBC's New York offices, would run an hour, 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., with a half-hour question-and-answer period to follow.

The April 2 meeting is somewhat similar to the May press briefing NBC does in the morning before its typical big afternoon major multi-hour program presentation to media executives at Radio City Music Hall.

On May 12, the company will instead hold a toned-down upfront presentation that includes not just the NBC network, but all NBC Universal's different media properties. NBC had also said it would hold individual meetings with ad buyers and marketers afterward.

Last year, NBC network did $1.8 billion to $1.9 billion in upfront deals in June 2007, about the same as it inked a year before.