VIACA ViacomCBS Inc

By Nat Ives 

Viacom CBS Inc.'s CBS network and Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal called off their in-person upfront presentations to advertisers, which had been scheduled for May, citing concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Each had planned stage shows for audiences of marketers and ad buyers in New York -- CBS at Carnegie Hall and NBC at Radio City Music Hall -- as part of a yearly ritual in which TV networks vie to secure billions of dollars in ad spending in their coming seasons.

Both said they would stream their events instead. NBC said it would televise it as well.

"This year's upfront presentation will ensure everybody's safety, while allowing us to give fans and marketers a preview of the upcoming season, " said Linda Yaccarino, chairman of advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal.

"The health and safety of our clients and the ViacomCBS team comes first, " said Jo Ann Ross, president and chief advertising revenue officer for ViacomCBS domestic advertising sales.

AT&T Inc.'s WarnerMedia, which owns cable networks such as TNT and CNN, also said it would replace the in-person upfronts event that it had planned for May with a remote presentation.

The TV networks' moves came amid a crescendo of postponements, cancellations and shutdowns as businesses and governments seek to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Pro basketball, baseball and hockey all suspended their operations, Broadway shows closed their doors, and more locations prohibited large gatherings. And the National Collegiate Athletic Association canceled its marquee March Madness basketball tournament.

A spokeswoman for Walt Disney Co.'s ABC didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on its upfronts plan. Fox Corp.'s Fox network declined to comment on its plan for the upfronts. Fox Corp. and Wall Street Journal parent News Corp share common ownership.

Live events are only part of the upfronts process, said Catherine Sullivan, chief investment officer at Omnicom Media Group North America, part of Omnicom Group Inc. Ad buyers will still work with the networks to strike deals for their marketer clients, she said.

Live presentations can make an impact on ad buyers if they see others in the audience respond well to a preview for a new TV show, said Brian Wieser, global president for business intelligence at the ad-buying giant GroupM, part of WPP PLC. "That can be hard to replicate."

But locking out the live audience won't hurt the broadcasters' overall ability to bring in ad dollars, Mr. Wieser said. "It doesn't change the total amount of money available," he said. "Their individual marketing teams just have to think about the events slightly differently."

Cable programmers including A+E Television Networks LLC, AMC Networks Inc. and Fox Corp.'s Fox News previously called off plans for crowded, in-person upfront events that had been scheduled for this month.

And the organizers of the Digital Content NewFronts, an annual series of events designed to promote digital video to advertisers, this week encouraged participants to make their presentations online-only.

Write to Nat Ives at nat.ives@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 12, 2020 17:25 ET (21:25 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.