Seth Meyers Mocks CBS in NBCUniversal Upfronts
seth meyers used NBCUniversal's upfront presentation in New York City on Monday morning to needle CBS, Comcast, Netflix and Trump in front of advertisers. He framed the rivalries as a business fight, not just a late-night bit, while NBCUniversal was trying to sell its own slate to the same clients.
“We have taken down CBS,” Meyers said, then added, “Well, the Ellisons did, but I like to think we helped.” He also said, “Seriously, what’s going on over there? They’re so in the pocket for Trump that I heard, next year, Survivor is in the Strait of Hormuz.”
CBS, Paramount and Trump
Meyers’ sharpest line landed on CBS’s absence from a large upfront this year: “CBS did not hold an upfront presentation this year because ‘CBS up front’ just describes how they paid Trump to drop the lawsuit.” Paramount instead hosted several smaller presentations in L.A. and New York City, plus a few intimate dinners with clients and talent, a quieter sell than NBCUniversal’s crowd-facing pitch.
The joke also tracked with a larger shift in the room. NBC rather than CBS will take the broadcast crown for total viewers this TV season for the first time in nearly two decades, so Meyers was mocking a rival while NBCUniversal was sitting on a ratings brag it could use with advertisers.
Comcast, Peacock and Love Island USA
“Comcast actually made a bid too, but no one thought we were actually gonna get it,” Meyers said, before likening it to “that one friend who always pretends to reach for his wallet after the check comes.” He followed with, “No, no. Comcast, you can get it next time, bud,” and then turned to Peacock: “So now you’ll get all your favorites in one place … speaking of streamers, Comcast said on its most recent earnings call that Peacock is approaching profitability in the same way Kevin Hart is approaching seven feet tall.”
He also worked in “Season 8 of Love Island USA is set to premiere in June, so please, please get the HPV vaccine,” and, “If you’re the ad rep for Valtrex, what are you waiting for? Love Island is back.” That is the practical part of the pitch: NBCUniversal is selling both reach and attention, and Meyers was spelling out where the ad inventory sits.
Netflix on the Hudson River
Netflix is hosting its upfronts this year on the Hudson River, and Meyers used that rivalry too: “once a Netflix show hits two seasons, that’s where they dump its body.” The line was part of a 10-minute laugh session that also touched NBCUniversal’s own roster, including Taylor Sheridan, whom it poached from Paramount last year in a deal worth a reported $1 billion.
He is set to appear on CBS Monday night with fellow Strike Force Five members Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and John Oliver, which gives the jokes a little extra bite. For advertisers, the point is simple: upfront week is where networks are trying to look strong in public while their competitors are in the same city, selling the same finite pool of spending.
