2026 TV upfronts recap: Hi-tech ad buying, creator fever and 'Baywatch'

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The television industry has changed dramatically over the last decade, but one tradition that won’t die is the annual gathering of ad-buying execs in Manhattan to hear the pitches of networks and streamers looking to sell their commercial time.This past week’s lavish presentations, known as the upfronts, included the usual array of big-name actors (Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jennifer Lopez), NFL legends (Tom Brady and Mike Tomlin) and “Real Housewives,” past and present.The selling buzzwords are far different from the days when the presentations were a vehicle for networks to boast about their ratings and present new program line-ups.

The 2026 upfronts talked a lot about “connections” and “community” as the personalized nature of TV viewing brought on by streaming video-on-demand has been fully integrated into the buying and selling of commercials.“Three of us could be watching the same show, maybe at a different time, maybe at the same time, but receive very different advertising based on what ad technologies, know about us as an audience segment,” said Josh Mattison, executive vice president of digital revenue pricing, planning and operations for Walt Disney Co.

“The old model would be, hey, did 10 million people watch this ad? 
I think the new model is, which 10 million people watch this ad.”Here’s a sampling of what ad executives were seeing and hearing this week:Using new ad tools that target viewersEvery company presentation touted advancements in the ability to target consumers now that advertising has become the main source of revenue growth in the streaming business.They also played up new services — such as NBC’s Performance Insights Hub — providing advertisers with up to date information on the effectiveness of their advertising so they can adjust accordingly.Streamers can take the consumer research collected by advertisers and al...