Netflix Planning First-Ever TV Upfront After Launching Ad-Supported Tier

TV networks’ upfront presentations are an opportunity for management and creatives to speak directly to advertisers, giving potential buyers a chance to see what is to come in the season ahead and trying to attract their attention with splashy presentations and celebrity appearances. Now, for the first time, streaming giant Netflix is set to have an upfront presentation, where they can pitch companies interested in their new, ad-supported tier. The event will take place at New York’s Paris Theater — a venue actually owned by Netflix — on May 17. Rather than the “newfronts” presentations that other digital platforms have launched in recent years, Netflix’s presentaiton comes in the middle of the network upfront period.

Variety, who first reported the news, note that an opening came up because CBS has decided to abandon traditional upfronts, and will instead go one-on-one with potential advertisers. Netflix likely sees the benefit of upfront presentations, which are seen by the public and help create buzz around upcoming projects.

Ads are not going to be the only limitation for Netflix Basic With Ads, which rolled out late last year. It also comes with a lower resolution for video, and some content are not available to watch at all on the Basic plan. Netflix has never had ads, and didn’t intend to do so until fairly recently, some of the licensing deals they have negotiated for movies and TV shows specifically forbid them being shown with ads. Netflix intends to work on reducing the number of titles that will be unavailable on the Basic plan over time.

The advertising algorithm was developed by Netflix in cooperation with Microsoft. The ads themselves will run 15 or 30 seconds each, and are said to play both before and during movies and TV shows. Peters has said that new release movies will not have ads during the film, opting instead to keep only pre-roll ads.

The plan was announced back in April, when Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings confirmed rumors that the company was looking at launching an ad-based tier. Per that announcement, Netflix Basic With Ads “represents an exciting opportunity for advertisers – the chance to reach a diverse audience, including younger viewers who increasingly don’t watch linear TV, in a premium environment with a seamless, high-resolution ads experience.”

Netflix Basic With Ads launched in November. It costs $6.99 per month, compared to the current lowest-prices option, the Basic plan, which currently costs $9.99 per month.