Nine ‘set the benchmark’ for Seven and Ten, but content slate lacked ‘depth’: Media buyers review 2021 upfronts
In this series, senior media buyers review each network’s 2021 upfronts presentation, weighing in on what they got right, what they missed, and how the virtual events stack up to the ‘real life’ versions. First off the blocks: Nine.
Last year, Fox Studios was turned into a fairground for Nine’s upfronts, featuring a rollercoaster, sideshow games, towering Lego rocketship, performance by Guy Sebastian, and secret massage parlour.
Fast forward to this year, and the Hugh Marks-led network was subject to 2020’s great equaliser: the virtual event. As The Media Store’s Paul Wilkinson put it, it’s “just a shame there is no space for a rollercoaster in my home office”.
The 2021 content slate
