Disney Will Lead Parade of Events Before Reworking May Upfront Show

variety.com:

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorDisney is shaking up its traditional “upfront” process, planning to host multiple showcases for advertisers that highlight sports, technology and creativity, while moving its annual sales event to a new venue.“Everyone recognizes we understand storytelling, but we are also leading with innovations around data and targeting and really connecting brands with their consumers,” says Rita Ferro, president of Disney Advertising Sales, in an interview.Disney intends to hold its biggest upfront event on Tuesday, May 17, at New York’s Basketball City complex downtown.

The venue, says Ferro, will allow the company to discuss its broad media portfolio in a more communal, interactive manner. “It doesn’t have the theater, where everyone sits eyes looking forward, and I think you’ll get a very different feeling when you leave there,” the executive says.

Disney for years has used Lincoln Center as its base for the industry’s glitzy upfront, when U.S. TV networks try to sell the bulk of their commercial inventory for the next programming cycle.

The media companies are working for ad dollars as Madison Avenue is shifting allocations from traditional TV to streaming video, and all the companies are fine-tuning their approaches for advertisers interested in more than just reaching big masses of consumers with a 30-second TV spot.As such, Ferro says the Disney event will feature a different slate of presenters than in years past, but with at least one nod to tradition.