NBC Universal NewFront Pitches Digital as Complement to TV

The NewFront digital upfront presentations were conceived to mimic the traditional television upfronts, where networks try to interest advertisers in buying huge amounts of ad inventory for the coming year. But NBC Universal didn't want its digital upfront to step on its traditional presentations either, so its pitch for 60 digital properties included no show screenings, relatively few celebrities and lots of concepts. Instead, NBCU used its pitch as an opportunity to explain to advertisers how they can use digital to complement their TV buys. And unlike pure digital players such as Yahoo and AOL, whose upfronts implied that web video could take the place of some TV buys, NBC Universal was careful to emphasize that its new platforms and online content wouldn't be possible without its portfolio of broadcast and cable networks.