Opening up this year’s upfront season, A+E Networks is telling advertisers that it will continue to put out original content created by high-profile talent and that it has developed a new measurement system to assure brands their campaigns will get results.
In a quick 30-minute virtual presentation, A+E said that as many media companies are cutting back on content to reduce costs, it will be producing 2,500 hours of new multiplatform content, about the same as last year.
This year’s A+E talent roster includes Tom Hanks, Derek Jeter, Dan Aykroyd, Reese Witherspoon, Danny Trejoy, Gypsy Rose Blanchard, Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, Don Cheadle, Alice Cooper, Kevin Costner, Bethenny Frankel, Gloria Gaynor, Sammy Hagar, Delilah Hamlin, Melissa Joan Hart, Michael Imperioli, Janet Jackson, Chloe Lukasiak, Peyton Manning, Terry McMillan, Bret Michaels, President Barack Obama, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Rachael Ray, Lisa Rinna, Robin Roberts, Elisabeth Röhm, JoJo Siwa, Savannah Lee Smith, Dee Snider, Buddy Valastro, Kendall Vertes, Brian White, Reese Witherspoon and Billy Zane.
“A+E continues to move forward with intention and pace in the ever-evolving media landscape, bringing forth premium quality content for viewers and innovative solutions for advertising partners,” A+E president and chairman Paul Buccieri said.
“Behind the scenes, we partner with the best talent in the business — in front of and behind the camera — resulting in a diverse roster that resonates emotionally with all audiences everywhere,” Buccieri said. “We are creators of content that inspires, captivates, delights and informs, and it is the power of imagination and storytelling that binds us all, no matter how or where we choose to watch.”
A+E is putting original content on cable, where fresh programming is increasingly rare. It is also offsetting the loss of reach due to cord-cutting by distributing its programming on streaming platforms.
“This whole approach of pushing our content out into all the windows is to build back as much reach as possible,” A+E president of ad sales Peter Olsen told Broadcasting+Cable about the company’s multi-platform approach.
“We’re still reaching two-thirds of the country,“ Olsen said. ”We know television works. We’ve known that for five decades. This multiplatform approach gives us so much confidence that its going to work because it always worked and it still does.”
A+E isn’t the biggest programmer, so it has to be more nimble and willing to do things to help advertisers others aren’t willing to do, said former Fox ad sales president Toby Byrne, who joined A+E as executive VP in January.
“We made different decisions about how we’re going to distribute our content, as opposed to our own streamer,” Byrne said. “That’s helped us build reach. It’s helped us build our digital audience. Our product now is our total audience.”
Byrne said A+E is making a case to be looked at differently by ad buyers than other traditional cable programmers.
“We want to be the partner that they choose to work with because we do so many things so well,” he said.
A+E is looking to assure advertisers that multiplatform campaigns will work with a new metric it calls InterAction.
“We’ve realized that to compete in this marketplace, we need additional ways to prove our value,” Olsen said.
InterAction uses three key metrics: attention data from TVision, recall measurement from Brand Effect and search results from EDO.
“We know how complex the marketplace is and we wanted to get beyond counting impressions,” said Rosanne Montenes, senior VP of ad sales-audience solutions. “It’s really shorthand for how A+E takes consumers further down that purchase journey from actually seeing an ad to then taking an action.”
InterAction is used to plan a campaign on the front end, while A+E’s Performax tool is used to execute it and guarantee it will work.
A+E has been offering clients guarantees campaigns will perform for a few years.
The TV advertising market was weak last year and on earnings calls this quarter media company executive have said the see signs demand is improving.
“We feel cautiously optimistic about the market,” said Olsen.
“As a company and a sales force, we are upbeat, optimistic and energized. There's a lot of challenges but there's no reason to wallow in all the problems. We just focus on what we can do, how we can solve problems and go out and do it,” he said.
“I think clients are recognizing once again the value of a full-funnel approach. We are seeing more activity in traditional scatter,” Olsen added. “I think the desire to work with publishers versus aggregators is a legitimate debate that’s happening because of all the things we bring to the table.”
Olsen said that A+E has been pleased with its early, on-video upfront presentation strategy.
“We always say we’ll do it in 30 minutes or less,“ he said. “That’s a big promise we make to people.
“We love going early because it gives us top-of-mind awareness during what we think of as the most important six week of actual dealmaking,” Olsen said, adding that A+E is also making personalized visits to media buyers and marketers.
With a video presentation, “we reach 3,000 plus people in the first month, more than we could host at the Armory like the old days, and we can do it in a more cost-efficient, effective manner,” he said. “And we get home for dinner instead of being out spending all of our T&E money.”
A+E’S UPFRONT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Here are some of the programs A+E Networks will be announcing during its upfront presentation:
History Channel
- Tom Hanks World War II Documentary Series (Untitled): Hosted and narrated by Tom Hanks, the new 20-part untitled documentary series offers a comprehensive view of World War II.
- Reconstruction Podcast With President Barack Obama (Untitled): Produced by President Obama and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Audio, Malcolm Gladwell’s Pushkin Industries and Audible, the eight-part untitled podcast explores the history and legacy of America’s Reconstruction Era.
- History’s Greatest Warriors: Produced by Derek Jeter’s production company CAP 2 Productions and Citizen Jones, the new series explores the step-by-step process to produce some of history’s most infamous and lethal warriors — Samurai, Spartans, Delta Force, Navy SEALS and Vikings.
- The Icons that Built America: Produced by Jeter’s CAP 2 Productions and Blackfin, a division of Lionsgate’s Alternative Television group, the series celebrates the innovators, trailblazers, and risk-takers who pushed boundaries and redefined what it means to be a performer. The seven-episode series explores the lives and careers of such individuals as daredevil Evel Knievel, martial artist and actor Bruce Lee, comedian Richard Pryor, radio host Howard Stern and hip-hop group N.W.A.
- The UnXplored with Danny Trejo (working title): Shedding a light on the mysteries of the past and present, the new series examines the fascinating stories surrounding buried artifacts and lost civilizations. Hosted and narrated by Trejo, the eight-part series seeks to unearth what the human eye cannot easily detect.
- History 250: The History Channel is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States with History 250, an initiative highlighting long-form content on-air, multiplatform short-form content and premium events reflecting the power and legacy of American history and stories. This initiative will run across all platforms and highlight many lives and experiences from 250 voices across 50 states to honor, acknowledge and reflect different perspectives from our past and present.
Lifetime
- Gloria Gaynor Biopic/Robin Roberts Presents: Two-time Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter and music legend Gloria Gaynor is set to have her extraordinary journey brought to life in a new Lifetime biopic which marks the network’s third film project with journalist Robin Roberts under her “Robin Roberts Presents” banner.
- Dance Moms: The Reunion: The two-hour special event — produced by the A+E Factual Studios Group — is set to premiere in May featuring Dance Moms fan favorites JoJo Siwa, Chloe Lukasiak, Brooke Hyland, Paige Hyland, Kendall Vertes and Kalani Hilliker looking back at the show that became a worldwide pop-culture sensation.
- Untitled Larry Ray/Sarah Lawrence Cult Movie: Executive produced and directed by Elisabeth Röhm, Billy Zane will star in the yet-to-be-titled movie based on the true story of Larry Ray, an ex-con who moved in with his daughter at Sarah Lawrence College and created a cult-like influence over her friends.
A&E Network
- Secrets of the Hells Angels: Under former leader Sonny Barger, the Hells Angels expanded across the United States. The series examines the history of the group of outlaws to uncover the organization’s darkest secrets.
- Houses of Horror: Secrets of College Greek Life: The series exposes the dark side of fraternities and sororities and its impact on some of the young men and women who participate.
Home.Made.Nation
- Hello Sunshine Development Deal: Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine will develop premium lifestyle content for A+E’s Home.Made.Nation multiplatform content hub. The first series to launch is Country House Hunters, which will follow couples as they search for the perfect country home.
- Property Virgins: Hosted by celebrated radio and TV personality and one of Toronto’s top realtors, Wendy Wolfe, this update of the classic series portrays the experiences of first-time home buyers looking for their dream homes.
- 24 Hours To Buy: Series profiles couples who are in a housing pressure cooker - whether they're relocating unexpectedly for work, or compelled by a personal situation, their relocation is coming up and they need to find a house fast.
