As Madison Avenue buyers packed into the Beacon Theatre Monday, they were greeted with Fox's annual dose of star power -- and 90 minutes devoted to cutting through in a changing landscape.
Here are the takeaways:
A rough fall. "Part of the upfront is being upfront," notes Kevin Reilly, before serving up the kind of candor for which he has become known: "This was not our best year." Translation: Fox ceded its 18-49 crown to CBS for the first time in several years. But to hear him and ad sales president Toby Byrne tell it, Fox is excelling in plenty of other metrics. For instance, the network has spent 11 seasons as No. 1 among the 18-34 set, and its shows over-index in delayed viewing, which would imply “engagement.” A recent episode of The Following, for instance, gained 81 percent once seven days of delayed viewing were factored in. Reilly does use the platform to assure his deep-pocketed audience that Fox will return to its No. 1 status among the coveted 18-49 demo next season, a statement he is confident making given both his lineup as well as the inclusion of the Super Bowl.
VIDEO: Watch Trailers for the New Fox Shows
Men, Men, Men. If last year was all about the funny ladies of Fox, this upfront was all about the comedy offerings of men. Max "Schmidt" Greenfield was called upon to introduce the comedy clips, which feature a slew of different actors, from Geoff Stults (Enlisted) to Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) to Seth Green (Dads) to Chris Meloni (Surviving Jack). Reilly's hope is that the new crop will not only offer a jolt of testosterone, but also the potential to lure a broad audience -- or at least a broader audience than its current critically beloved, low-rated femme-skewing lineup.
Social Media Matters. A lot. There was much time devoted to talk about Twitter, with Reilly boasting Fox's status as the No. 1 social network, according to Blue Fin Labs, and making note of a new partnership with Twitter. In fact, Fox enlisted its top talent, including J.J. Abrams, James L. Brooks, Mindy Kaling, Ryan Seacrest and Liz Meriwether to acknowledge the value of other platforms in a pre-recorded video, while still driving home the value of broadcast TV -- and more specifically, Fox. The network's digital initiative got some praise, too, including including ADHD, Wigs (about the lives of women) and Short-com Comedy Hour. "This is my ideal sitcom, said Kevin Smith in a video introducing the latter. "It's a tiny version of it." It's something of a head-scratching initiative since what media buyers are looking for is portability of established content. Of course, random short-form content has mostly failed to rise above the DIY cacophony of the Internet.
About that Lack of Ill Will... Earlier in the day, Reilly confirmed that Randy Jackson would not be returning to American Idol, noting that there was "not an ounce of ill will" on either side. But when Simon Cowell took the stage with his fellow Fox unscripted stars, he joked to his former Idol pal: "Where's Randy?" To which host Ryan Seacrest blurted, "Ask Kevin." The comment was followed by brief and decidedly awkward laughter from both the stage and the audience. As for the long-running show, Reilly took the opportunity to remind media buyers that "twelve years in, [Idol is] still a top five show. I don't think any other show in history has generated so much cultural relevancy and attention."
Watch Out Cable. Reilly reiterated a point he made earlier, which is that cable originals may get outsized attention and praise, only four of the top 50 shows appear on basic cable. And his high-stakes Kevin Bacon effort, The Following, out-rates all but one (The Walking Dead). On the receiving end of Reilly shout-outs: the long-running Bones casts as well as the network's most prestigious stars, Bacon and Rake star Greg Kinnear. Lest the ad community didn't notice Kinnear in the drama actor lineup, Reilly selected the Oscar-nominated actor to step forward and intro the net's drama clips, which he did with a much-needed dose of humor. Kinnear turned to Reilly and suggested that his deal noted that Rake would "run in its entirety without commercial breaks," he quips, adding: "So I don't know what the hell all of these people are doing here."
Reviving a Broadcast Tradition. Throughout the 90-minute presentation, Reilly stressed the network's investment in content, as if to reassure media buyers who may be jittery over the network's double-digit ratings declines this season. And one place where Fox is putting significant resources is in limited series including Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson's Billy the Kid, M. Night Shyamalan's Wayward Pines, and an adaptation of Jeffrey Toobin's O.J. Simpson tome The Run of His Life and a remake of the classic Shogun.
