As a part of Adweek’s ongoing year-in-review TV protection, we requested 26 TV executives and insiders to elucidate crucial factor they discovered in 2022.
A number of the specialists saved it transient, speaking in regards to the want for flexibility in a continually altering market, and different executives mirrored on the energy of stay sports activities to seize large audiences. Then, in fact, there have been people who have been happy with lastly mastering an ongoing ache level inside the business: Zoom calls.
Listed below are crucial issues TV executives, advert gross sales chiefs and patrons discovered in 2022:
Dani Benowitz, president, U.S., Magna: This 12 months has taught me the true that means of partnership and the importance of partnerships in our business. This contains understanding what it takes to be a very good accomplice from either side of the desk. It’s been a 12 months full of unpredictability, and navigating it has required compassion, creativity and collaboration. It’s been inspiring to see what number of good companions have confirmed up all through the business in 2022.
Frances Berwick, chairman, leisure networks, NBCUniversal Tv and Streaming: Linear TV remains to be unmatched in relation to driving the largest attain. Look no additional than Thanksgiving Day on NBC, which reached practically 100M viewers throughout our leisure and sports activities programming.
Geoffrey Calabrese, Omnicom Media Group’s North American chief funding officer: Transitioning the business to new forex is an actual problem. You’re asking publishers, purchasers and companies to basically change their means of transacting and measuring media. Whereas everyone knows it’s the option to go, getting there may be tougher than it sounds.
David Campanelli, evp and chief funding officer, Horizon Media: That streaming isn’t fairly prepared to avoid wasting the media world but like most individuals thought.
Craig Erwich, Hulu Originals and ABC Leisure president: Two issues: scheduling remains to be actually necessary, and comedy is alive and properly on broadcast tv. Take Abbott Elementary, which we launched behind Stay in Entrance of a Studio Viewers a 12 months in the past. Debuting a brand new sequence behind a tentpole occasion after which making the episode accessible on Hulu for practically a month earlier than the subsequent episode aired on ABC created a fair bigger sampling alternative and supplied the longest runway attainable for viewers to find the present. And this 12 months, Abbott went on to ship our highest-rated comedy telecast in three years and the biggest delayed-viewing improve for any ABC comedy ever.
Rita Ferro, president, Disney Promoting: Focus in your prospects. Whereas this isn’t a brand new lesson for me being within the business for 25 years, in actually dynamic instances, it’s extra necessary than ever to remain customer-focused. Spend money on your staff. When you may have the very best expertise and teamwork within the business, there’s nothing you may’t accomplish. The necessity to stay nimble, versatile and consultative can also be critically necessary as {the marketplace} adapts to macro-economic forces.
Kathleen Finch, chairman and CCO, U.S. Networks Group, Warner Bros. Discovery: Flexibility is a extremely underrated skilled trait. The media enterprise is altering virtually each day, and if you happen to don’t rapidly regulate your methods to accommodate these modifications, the enterprise will move you by. We have to embrace the altering know-how and altering viewer habits inflicting all this disruption, even when which means tossing out a strategic plan we dedicated to 6 months in the past.
Marianne Gambelli, president of promoting gross sales, advertising and marketing and model partnerships, Fox Corp.: This 12 months additional validated the energy, resiliency and affect of premium stay content material and marquee occasion programming. It continues to have interaction massive audiences and ship unmatched scale for advertisers in contrast to some other content material—and this by no means was extra evident than through the fall. At Fox, we delivered unprecedented rankings with our protection of the lads’s FIFA World Cup, faculty soccer and NFL. Through the November midterm elections, Fox Information Channel was the most-watched community in all of tv on election night time. The Masked Singer and Hell’s Kitchen continued to ship thrilling moments that engaged audiences and created social buzz. In a market the place advertisers are trying to find scale, stability and affect, stay content material and marquee occasions and programming have by no means been extra in demand. We’ll proceed to offer the sort of nice content material in 2023 for advertisers and viewers, which incorporates the largest occasion in all of tv–the Tremendous Bowl in February.
Amy Ginsberg, chief funding officer, Havas Media Group: I’ve discovered (and am nonetheless within the strategy of studying) learn how to work, handle and lead in a hybrid work setting. It has modified drastically for the reason that pandemic and requires a special method. It’s important to discover a option to encourage folks in an setting none of us are used to. That is positively a piece in progress.
Jeremi Gorman, president worldwide promoting, Netflix: I discovered to reply calls from unknown numbers as a result of it might simply be a name from somebody wanting to speak to you about your dream job! In all seriousness although, I’m studying an unbelievable quantity in regards to the TV house and about working within the “No Guidelines Guidelines” tradition made well-known by Netflix. With over 2 many years of digital expertise, I’m lucky to convey an unconventional TV background to the desk, however I do know that I have to complement that with my very own studying and to encompass myself with distinctive colleagues and companions who can assist me be taught TV. As for the tradition of Netflix, I’m loving it! Up to now, all the pieces I’ve learn, equivalent to Reed Hastings’ e-book, to the tradition memo, has been true. Everybody right here is extraordinarily useful, good and keen to make selections rapidly inside the framework of the tradition. I look ahead to experiencing extra of this model and might’t wait to see what the long run holds.
John Halley, president, Paramount Promoting: There is no such thing as a extra orthodoxy. The media enterprise is altering so rapidly. From Netflix to Meta, we noticed issues we by no means would have anticipated a 12 months in the past.
Alison Hoffman, president, Home Networks, Starz: Our technique of being daring and differentiated was reaffirmed this 12 months with the triumphant return of P-Valley, whose second season drove explosive viewers progress and common important acclaim. Being boundary-breaking isn’t a threat on this business. It’s a formulation for achievement.
Kim Kelleher, chief business officer, AMC Networks: Anticipate the surprising. That is simply not the setting for complacency or blind certainty. Issues are transferring too quick and are too liable to sudden opportunistic or defensive modifications. However what you are able to do is know your core enterprise and its strengths and distinctive worth proposition chilly so you may transfer as rapidly as attainable when exterior elements past your management come into play. Navigating the present panorama just isn’t for the faint of coronary heart. The important thing factor any chief can convey to the duty is a deep understanding of their very own enterprise because the fixed in a roiling sea of variables.
Alison Levin, vp, advert income and advertising and marketing options, Roku: My dad grew up within the restaurant business. He usually stated: In the event you’re going to be the chef, be sure to decide your individual components. 2022 has been each thrilling and difficult for our business. A very powerful factor I discovered–or maybe reaffirmed–was that our business has the components to make promoting higher for customers, manufacturers and content material house owners.
Chris McCarthy, president/CEO, Showtime and Paramount Media Networks: Tradition issues now greater than ever–from the best way we have interaction our audiences, our companions, our content material and our groups–once we’re all driving towards a shared function which is to entertain and empower our viewers, we drive distinctive enterprise outcomes.
Dennis Miller, president, The CW Community: The facility of broadcast.
Peter Olsen, evp, advert gross sales, A+E Networks: I’ve loved working much more intently with purchasers and colleagues to search out options–leaning in and listening with larger acuity. Clearly, our world has reached peak complexity. From understanding the enterprise challenges of our companions throughout the desk to recognizing these of our inside colleagues, we might all profit from taking the time to understand the motivations of our friends in an effort to assist craft a real answer to the precise issues at hand.
Amy Reisenbach, president, CBS Leisure: How you can seamlessly swap from pc to cellphone and vice versa whereas on Zoom calls.
Shelby Saville, chief funding officer, Publicis Media Change: I’ve discovered that purchasers’ want for continued flexibility was not simply one thing remoted to the early days of the pandemic. We’re seeing an ongoing want to reply and react to actual enterprise wants in real-time, and that isn’t going away anytime quickly.
Dave Sederbaum, evp, head of video funding, Dentsu: At all times have a plan B! In all seriousness, it’s about being nimble and able to adapt to unexpected circumstances. The financial optimism that began the 12 months was warning because the headwinds all of us confronted gained energy. The have to be able to adapt to altering enterprise realities of our consumer companions was paramount to our collective success. Transparency of dialogue, recognizing the NOW but additionally defending the long run are conversations which are greatest had when you may current various eventualities and paths ahead. Are you able to contract spend as wanted? In fact, however the larger query is how a lot and the place, and what are the ramifications? The notion of shared duty and partnership greatest come to mild when choices may be mentioned.
Rob Sharenow, president of programming, A+E Networks: Folks nonetheless like to have collective cultural experiences, and TV is an incredible automobile to make that occur. Twenty-one million viewers watched our Janet Jackson mega documentary, which was enormously gratifying.
Donna Speciale. president of TelevisaUnivision U.S. advert gross sales and advertising and marketing: I all the time say it takes a village, and this 12 months was no exception. We began off 2022 with the landmark merger to grow to be the world’s main Spanish-language media firm, reworked our advert gross sales enterprise within the U.S. and launched a number of new subtle capabilities which are delivering materials affect for our model and company companions. It’s been an unbelievable 12 months of progress, and I’m actually happy with TelevisaUnivision’s U.S. Advert Gross sales staff for driving forth a brand new go-to-market technique that’s actually resonating with our purchasers.
Jon Steinlauf, Warner Bros Discovery’s chief U.S. promoting gross sales officer: All through my profession, I’ve skilled unpredictable conditions and instances within the business, within the market and within the state of the world, this 12 months included. My greatest takeaway is to all the time be ready for the surprising.
Stacey Stewart, U.S. chief market officer, UM: I’ve discovered so much round sustainability and what we as an business can do to handle our rising local weather disaster proper now and sooner or later.
Matt Sweeney, chief funding officer of GroupM U.S.: Typically the easiest way to “lead the market” is to be versatile. Our market evaluation on the finish of March appeared very completely different than it did initially of February.
Rob Wade, CEO, Fox Leisure: It’s extra of a validation than a studying, however 2022 is the 12 months that proved the resiliency and necessary function non-aligned, ad-supported media firms have in shaping the worldwide market. Whereas the main shifts the enterprise is experiencing might profit a choose few, it very properly could also be as much as the independents to innovate and transfer the business ahead.
