The Upfronts Tradition and What It Reveals
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Each year, broadcasters have traditionally gathered advertisers and press together to formally present their upcoming programming slate, a practice known as the upfronts, designed specifically to generate early advertiser commitment well before any of the actual announced shows have even finished being produced or fully completed for broadcast.
This tradition reveals a great deal about how commercial television has always operated behind the scenes, since decisions about which shows receive a full season order often depend heavily on advertiser reaction during these presentations, sometimes even more heavily than on any actual audience reaction to material nobody has watched yet.
As viewing habits have fragmented considerably across streaming and traditional broadcast simultaneously, the upfronts tradition has had to adapt its format and messaging, though its underlying function persists largely unchanged: convincing advertisers, well in advance, that a given slate of shows genuinely deserves their considerable ongoing financial investment.