NBCUniversal has closed its 2024-25 Upfront negotiations, touting “modest” advertising growth boosted by Peacock, sports and digital. The latest round marked the company’s largest digital Upfront to date.
“This past year, we focused every investment and innovation on driving media effectiveness for our clients. Our engaging content provides the ultimate canvas for our advertisers to tell their brand stories to their consumers,” Global Advertising and Partnerships chairman Mark Marshall said in a Friday statement. “In this year’s Upfront, NBCUniversal saw growth in advertising commitments across its portfolio in key business areas, including strategic audiences, live programming and streaming — demonstrating the value of our storytelling and the strength of our powerful tech stack to the marketplace.”
A spokesperson declined to disclose specific figures on total volume or cost per thousand impressions (CPMs).
NBCU’s broadcast portfolio saw an increase in volume compared to last year across entertainment, news and sports. Sports delivered its highest Upfront commitments to date, with sports digital recording double-digit year over year growth and Hispanic sports investments growing by nearly 20%.
Peacock, which also secured its highest Upfront ever, has seen advertiser demand grow 40% over the past three years. DTC advertisers within NBCU’s small business group increased total Upfront investments by nearly 50%, with many being first-time Upfront buyers. The company saw nearly 90% growth in sports, nearly 60% growth in news and 45% growth in primetime.
The media giant also saw growth across key spending categories, including auto, retail, insurance, personal care and beverages.
NBCU is the first major media company to close its Upfront negotiations for the season. Its results come as streamers have been ramping up their ad-supported offerings in an effort to capture ad dollars migrating from linear television.
In 2024, digital video in the U.S., which includes connected TV, social video and online video, is expected to generate an estimated $63 billion in ad spend and earn 52% of total share versus 48% for linear, according to a study by the International Advertising Bureau.
Connected TV ad spend, which includes ad-supported streamers and virtual multichannel video program distributors like YouTube TV, exceeded $20 billion for the first time ever in 2023 and is projected to grow 12% to nearly $23 billion in 2024.
