Peacock Preens In First NewFronts Pitch, Touting “One Complete Package” Across Linear And Streaming

deadline.com:

In a fast-moving, 40-minute pitch to media buyers on Day 1 of the NewFronts, NBCUniversal’s Peacock touted its advertising DNA at a moment when some streaming rivals are just now cozying up to Madison Avenue.“Peacock is the only place your brands can live alongside all of that content,” said Laura Molen, president of NBCU advertising sales and partnerships, alluding to original series and movies, library fare, news, sports and events, What’s more, “you can do it all easily, in one complete package, rather than broken out in digital and linear silos. … From the beginning, we wanted to build the best of both worlds for audiences and advertisers.”It was the first NewFronts presentation by Peacock, which launched nationally in July 2020.

Covid forced the 2021 NewFronts and upfronts into virtual mode, but this year they have returned to in-person mode.While Peacock’s orientation toward ads was dismissed by many rivals and media observers as ad-free, subscription outlets Disney+, HBO Max and Apple TV+ took aim at Netflix, the ground has shifted significantly.

Netflix last month reported its first subscriber loss in more than a decade and also declared its plan to offer a cheaper, ad-supported tier.

Disney+ is also going to launch a new plan with advertising, matching HBO Max’s move last summer. The thinking on Wall Street of late is that gaining subscribers is nice, but profits are even better.Nearly two years in, Peacock is far from the top of the streaming heap but it is starting to gain some traction.