One other TV upfront season is winding down, and following the sample of earlier years, NBCUniversal is the primary firm to shut its TV upfront talks.
At present, the corporate instructed ADWEEK it had the “highest advert gross sales quantity” in its historical past, with file gross sales commitments general and its largest digital upfront. The expansion was fueled by sports activities and stay occasions, which included the addition of the NBA, in addition to the expansion of Peacock.
NBCUniversal didn’t disclose particulars round whole greenback quantity or CPMs (value per thousand viewers reached). That is the third consecutive 12 months that NBCU didn’t reveal CPM particulars. Final 12 months, a supply mentioned the corporate was “very joyful” with the place pricing landed after it drove “modest development throughout its portfolio.”
The corporate final disclosed its whole greenback quantity in 2022, when it mentioned it had secured greater than $7 billion in commitments.
Based on NBCUniversal, its three main February tentpole occasions—the Milan Cortina Olympics, Tremendous Bowl LX, and the FIFA World Cup—drove extra file gross sales to the enterprise for its 2025-26 upfront, surpassing all three of the property’s mixed earlier benchmarks. The corporate additionally reported “record-breaking development” throughout key promoting classes inside these cultural occasions.
Although the corporate didn’t reveal pricing particulars, ADWEEK beforehand reported that NBCU had met its cap on the variety of Tremendous Bowl spots it was promoting within the upfront, and the corporate is now in search of $8 million for a 30-second unit.
The corporate famous that it noticed file income development throughout key classes throughout this 12 months’s upfront, together with retail, eating places, auto, journey, and monetary providers, which all grew by roughly 12%.
NBCU additionally reported that advertisers are “more and more” shifting past commonplace age and gender demos, with almost 60% of investments now transacted on superior audiences. In the meantime, NBCU’s programmatic enterprise, which has included sports activities and stay occasions since 2023, has continued to see sturdy demand, bringing in almost $1 billion in programmatic investments alone for the 2025-25 upfront cycle.
“This 12 months, we went to the market sooner than ever to strategically align our highly effective content material slate with our shoppers’ objectives,” Mark Marshall, chairman, international promoting and partnerships, NBCUniversal, mentioned in a press release. “The response has been extraordinary, and we’re extremely grateful for our companions’ belief and collaboration. In a 12 months set to redefine trade benchmarks, ad-supported attain stays probably the most influential pressure in media – and nobody delivers it like NBCU. With a cross-platform technique supercharged by cutting-edge expertise, we’re proud to interact 286 million individuals month-to-month – setting a brand new commonplace and delivering probably the most profitable upfront in our firm’s historical past.”
Stay programming and Peacock break information
With the inclusion of the NBA this 12 months, NBCUniversal mentioned it delivered its strongest sports activities upfront in historical past, including 20% new shoppers over final 12 months and securing a forty five% year-over-year improve in quantity past the large three tentpoles. NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, Golf, and USA Community all benefited from the demand for sports activities, driving new shoppers and sports activities commitments for the properties.
Stay occasions may even be a significant focus of 2026 with the FIFA World Cup, which noticed Telemundo expertise its finest upfront so far, which has already exceeded income for the earlier World Cup with over 10 months till kickoff.
BravoCon continues to be an in-demand occasion for advertisers, drawing record-breaking curiosity throughout all key classes and prompted returning sponsors to decide to bigger investments. Bravo has continued to see regular development over the previous 5 years, in line with the corporate, representing almost 20% of the corporate’s complete leisure demand throughout broadcast and cable.
NBCUniversal additionally noticed a resurgence in broadcast throughout information, sports activities, and leisure, with almost 15% year-over-year development, pushed partly by new alternatives with the NBA. Over 1 / 4 (25%) of NBCUniversal’s NBA advertisers can be new to broadcast this 12 months.
Peacock, which noticed its largest digital upfront in historical past, drove quite a lot of development, because of its advert improvements, low advert load, and viewer expertise, the corporate mentioned.
The NBCUniversal streamer noticed year-over-year development, driving over a 20% year-over-year improve, representing almost one-third of NBCUniversal’s whole upfront commitments.
Throughout this 12 months’s upfront cycle, NBCUniversal offered its complete portfolio throughout linear and streaming below its One Platform banner. Trying to subsequent 12 months’s upfront, the corporate will proceed to signify home Versant promoting stock, together with CNBC, E!, Golf Channel, MSNBC, Oxygen, Syfy, USA, and digital platforms.
