Takeaways from Netflix, Amazon, and more

Bob Iger on Disney's front court and Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods (with “Bruiser”) during the Amazon screening.

Jennifer Potthaiser/Disney; Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Amazon

It was all about trailers and fall broadcast schedules. This is now largely a thing of the past, as the media industry's pitches to Madison Avenue ad buyers continue to evolve.

After a week of turnover and tough sales, here are eight key takeaways after Netflix, Amazon, NBCUniversal, Disney, and Warner Bros. all made their debut. Discovery, YouTube and Fox have their shows.

1. The streaming giants came to play

This year was the first time Netflix and Amazon held physical events in New York during Demo Week (YouTube is now in its third year), and they were clearly trying to make an impression, as they sought to get a cut of the $20 billion or so in upfront commitments Which used to go exclusively to traditional entertainment companies. Tuesday's Amazon event saw the “highest concentration of A-list actors currently west of Cannes ever to be featured on stage,” including Reese Witherspoon (as Elle Woods!), Will Ferrell, Jake Gyllenhaal and tennis star Roger Federer. After the show, buyers sipped Nuka-Cola in an inspired display He falls, played video games on a Twitch activation, and took selfies next to a pile of cash inspired by the upcoming MrBeast game show, while sunglasses-wearing security handed out Feastables chocolate bars. …Netflix on Wednesday delivered a polished, clear message, plenty of earned bragging rights, and a “barrage of talent” of its own, including Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Shonda Rhimes and 49ers star George Kittle. Guests were then invited to explore the Netflix 'experience', including a non-lethal version of Squid gameRed light, green light, WWE wrestling ring and a small regency ball connected to a globe Bridgerton. …And YouTube closed out its week in advance on Wednesday evening, as it has done for the past few years, with a certainty of its own. “There's only one YouTube,” said CEO Neil Mohan, after noting that Google's video platform has now been the most popular streaming service on TVs for more than a year (yes, it even beats Netflix). As usual, it relied on a class of creators to host (including the ever-popular Zach King and Haley Kalil), and featured surprise musical acts, all of whom had their own YouTube channels: Billie Eilish and Finneas, K-pop stars Stray Kids, and Benson Bone. It also had NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, which was the icing on the cake given how prevalent the league was in every other presentation. At the afterparty, held in the Lincoln Center arena, YouTube created a play button next to the famous fountain, where guests munched on Spam Musubi and quesadillas, while creators mingled with the crowd.

More details: Netflix presentation and YouTube demo

2. Amazon likes to make headlines

Less than 24 hours after a 90-minute Fox show that featured talent including Derek Jeter, Tom Brady and Joel McHale, Amazon — in its first appearance — flexed its spending muscles. An endless array of celebrities were on display at the dog and pony show, which also included Hannah Waddingham, Octavia Spencer and Aldis Hodge as well as the aforementioned Federer, Gyllenhaal, Ferrell and Witherspoon. Jen Salke's retail/streaming giant created an equally big buzz with a surprising amount of news as well: A Legally blonde Introduction, A Tomb rider Series, A Road house Nicolas Cage's sequel to Sony's Marvel Spider-Man Noir Show, the pop culture version of Danger In addition to renovations Boys And hacking Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Among other things. However, our favorite part of this show was when HBO released the trailer for the new season Dragon House Not long after Amazon dropped one for Lord of the rings While the fantasy drama continues to play a game of cat and mouse.

In detail: Amazon offer

3. NBCUniversal Stuck in 2005 (With a Streaming Device)

The conglomerate went back to the early 2000s with an upfront presentation Heroes Grad Zachary Quinto returns to NBC primetime (in drama Brilliant minds), Kelly Clarkson performs “Since U Been Gone” and a double dose of Reba McEntire (on the sound And her comedy series, Happy place) with Snoop Dogg included for good measure (he works at the Olympics, yes, really). While what's old is new again for NBC, there was one thing that was glaringly missing from the presentation — which presented a feature film (evil) top billing — the focus was on its linear networks. Remember when cable was important and USA Network was the most watched network and not just an afterthought? At least Seth Meyers didn't miss a beat.

In detail: NBC Schedule I Show NBCUniversal

4. Fox prioritizes ownership

It's no surprise that in an era of walled gardens, where media companies sell less programming to outside companies, Fox is focusing on building its own content. But what was surprising was that animation strongly dominated Family life loving man — Disney-owned 20th Television — was on the bench when the network unveiled its fall schedule. Instead, Fox will use Disney productions The Simpsons And Bob's Burger To launch Universal basic men And the second season of crabopolis, Both are entirely owned or co-produced by the network. (Don't worry, Family life loving man It's still “crucial” for the network even though Disney's three beloved animated comedies are up for renewal this season and chatter continues about the possibility of moving the expensive but low-rated shows to one of the Mouse House's platforms as originals.)

In detail: Fox's first Fox schedule

5. Disney owns everything (but doesn't really know what to do with it)

Disney CEO Bob Iger made headlines by returning to the front stage for the first time in decades, putting that notorious proxy battle in the company's rearview mirror. (His triumphant spell was short-lived: 20 hours later he was at a MoffettNathanson event talking to investors about the extent of Disney's over-indexing on streaming and the need to pull back on the original content he'd been so happy to hype up the day before.) Instead of focusing on ABC and FX (the network that She spent years developing the latest songs Shogun), Disney's overstuffed presentation was all over the place. Focusing on “Communications” for two hours, it was difficult to transition from Ryan Seacrest and Monday Night Football For ABC News and Stephen A. Smith. Yes marvel and star Wars Jimmy Kimmel spared no expense except a shot of his top lieutenants in the audience, and none of the company's key creatives (FX's John Landgraf, Nat Geo's Courtney Monroe, Onyx's Tara Duncan) got any stage time. . But wait, The Room got an exclusive look at the new season of FX The bear.

In Detail: ABC I Show Disney Schedule

6. Warner Bros. Discovery follows an old-school approach

Warner Bros. presented it. Discovery presented a presentation that felt like a blast from the past. Casey Bloys previewed the originals coming to Max and HBO (though not specifically) in the next 18 months, but the bulk of the presentation was focused on ad buyers and — gasp! – Its many linear networks. Kathleen Finch, chairman and CEO of US Networks, said WBD “remains a believer in the power of linearity,” as she and ad sales executives dominated the 90-minute presentation.

In detail: Warner Bros. Discovery Show

7. Focus on…the movie?

NBCUniversal set the tone for the week when it kicked off Monday morning's presentation with a trailer for the feature film evil It was shown exclusively to attendees before being widely released the next day. Amazon is buzzing Road house A sequel was announced. Netflix confirmed Happy Gilmore 2 And Kathryn Bigelow's buzzy new movie. Even WBD, in its line-focused event, kicked it off with a buzz that prioritized features Furiosa, Dune: Part Two And Wonka. In the world of streaming, the ecosystem and film components have become part of the norm.

8. Where are the new things?

Whether it's a post-production pipeline that's not yet fully operational, media companies pinching pennies or a combination of the two, this year's introductions have seemed more than a little sparse when it comes to new programming. The big four broadcast networks and The CW have promised 20 new scripted series for next season, which is up from just 12 last year — when the introductions happened two weeks after the writers' strike. But over the four years before that, those networks announced, on average, 25 new shows each year. Aside from the trailer The bear, FX — one of the few cable brands that still makes a good-sized slate of originals — didn't have a presence at Disney up front. Even HBO and Netflix, which usually set the standard in this area, have said little about new shows. A lot of old favorites will be back next year, but no one seems to be betting big on making new favorites.

Oh, and if you're looking for trailers for a few new streaming shows, you can check them out below. (NBC has not yet released clips for Saint Denis Medical And Brilliant minds.)

document (fox)

Dr. Odyssey (ABC)

Happy place (nbc)

High potential (ABC)

Rescue: High Surf (fox)

Universal basic men (fox)