The WarnerMedia upfront will seem familiar to those who attended Turner's event a year ago with the addition of a new not-so-secret ingredient.
Donna Speciale, WarnerMedia Group's president of ad sales
Turner was acquired last year when AT&T bought Time Warner. AT&T combined Time Warner's Turner, HBO and Warner Bros. units into WarnerMedia. The Turner brand is being phased out.
Though something of a coming out for WarnerMedia, much of the presentation on Wednesday won't change that much. I'm going to showcase the content like we always do, Donna Speciale, WarnerMedia Group's president of ad sales, said. Conan O'Brien, Anderson Cooper and Shaquille O'Neal will again be there. In addition to clips of the Turner cable network series, Otter Media's digital media properties Crunchyroll and Rooster Teeth will be featured.
But this year, Speciale will be introducing WarnerMedia's special sauce: the data and analytics it now has access to from AT&T advertising unit, Xandr.
Turner Had Pushed Data Deals
Under Speciale, Turner pushed clients to do deals that were not based on the traditional broad age/sex demographics. Instead, she said the industry's future lay in more targeted campaigns, using data to identify audiences most likely to respond to an ad message.
She plans to include in her presentation a case study or two showing how much better targeted campaigns work when they're infused with the AT&T data.
WarnerMedia and Xandr began their collaboration last year and began pitching clients during CES.
In the first half of 2019, WarnerMedia has run 25 audience-based TV campaigns using the AT&T data and insights from Xandr. WarnerMedia also ran more than 200 digital campaigns using the Xandr data.
Now we can be a lot smarter, Speciale said. The AT&T data is so powerful and has such enormous reach, with 170 million consumer touch points, that it is now setting us apart from other media companies that don't have access to this data.
It's not the future, she said. It's reality. That's why I want to have some proof points at this upfront. To really show it's happening. It's working and it's real. We're proving that the big screen works just like digital does in bringing business metrics to clients.
That leads to a natural next step.
I truly believe is that my goal this year is to have guarantees on business outcomes, Speciale said. I want to get away from the traditional demo guarantees. I want to take it to the next level with attribution and have business outcomes be the guarantee that we do business on.
Working with Xandr and having access to the AT&T data means WarnerMedia can turn around its reports quickly. Clients will be able to make better decisions about what their next campaign should be. But Speciale said that even the best data can't work without human input.
We have to be very clear about bringing content into that conversation, she said. The art and science are the key. It can't all be science. There is a human element here that we need to touch.
Xandr is hosting its own event on Tuesday morning, but don't call it an upfront. We're a complement to what the upfronts are doing, Xandr chief marketing officer Kirk McDonald said. We're bringing data and technology to bear so we can add some enhancements to what they do.
WarnerMedia's networks have fans, and Xandr can help reach those fans more effectively, he said, noting that unlike some other merger situations, WarnerMedia and Xandr moved quickly to work together. Xandr wants to work not just with WarnerMedia, but with other programmers. Xandr can help fill in some of the gaps in the media buying process at a time when marketers are looking for more control.
Xandr to Promote New Tools
Xandr chief marketing officer Kirk McDonald
At its Xandr Front, the company will be making announcements about some new capabilities, McDonald said.
A year ago, Turner pledged that it would get its clients to spend at least 5% of their TV budget on audience-based buying.
We hit that number in the upfront, Speciale said. And while she's not setting a target this year, WarnerMedia is looking for growth in its data-driven ad products.
A big part of the WarnerMedia presentation will involve the company's upcoming, three-tiered, ad-supported, direct-to-consumer streaming product.
Speciale said she's been involved in figuring out its advertising profile.
What I love about the AVOD product is it's basically a clean slate, she said. We've been reducing commercial loads. We obviously know that is not an easy task to do, to try to undo a lot of history. Now with the AVOD product, we're going to have an open slate and kind of create it from scratch. So that's really what we've been working on more so.
The WarnerMedia upfront will seem familiar to those who attended Turner's event a year ago with the addition of a new not-so-secret ingredient.
Turner was acquired last year when AT&T bought Time Warner. AT&T combined Time Warner's Turner, HBO and Warner Bros. units into WarnerMedia. The Turner brand is being phased out.Subscribe for full article
Member Exclusive
Get Access to Our Exclusive Content
Learn MoreAlready subscribed? Log In
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
27/01/2026
Click for Japanese version
Tokyo, Japan - January 27, 2026 - Akamai Technolo...
27/01/2026
L-R: Jonathan Cuchacovich, Sonia Kennebeck, Alan Fischer, Daeil Kim, Andrew Sta...
27/01/2026
Today, Spotify is proud to support our partner Backline, an industry-leading men...
27/01/2026
With nearly 29 million monthly listeners and clear momentum on Spotify, Net n Ve...
27/01/2026
January 14, 2026
We are proud to share that 25 Ontario, First Gulf's commercial project located just two minutes from our head office, has been recognized ...
27/01/2026
January 22, 2026
First Gulf is excited to share that a full-building lease has been secured at 625 Bronte Rd in Oakville, part of Bronte Station Business Park,...
27/01/2026
January 23, 2026
First Gulf continues to demonstrate its commitment to high-performance, sustainable real estate with 351 King Street East achieving BOMA BEST ...
27/01/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
27/01/2026
Nielsen will continue to drive growth and provide local audience measurement
in...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Amagi Media Labs Limited, the only cloud-native SaaS provider offering end-to-end solutions across live production, content preparation, distribution, and monet...
27/01/2026
Miri Technologies Inc. today unveiled its V410 live 4K video encoder/decoder for streaming, IP-based production workflows and AV-over-IP distribution. Designed ...
27/01/2026
The Paul E. Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell in Massachusetts has chosen Ikegami cameras for incorporation into its broadcast-quality television production facili...
27/01/2026
SipRadius, specialists in secure, low latency media transport, will show the pro AV community its end-to-end solution for high quality content distribution and ...
27/01/2026
Hiltron will highlight the fruits of its 45-plus years of experience in satellite communications system integration and product development at the annual GovSat...
27/01/2026
Klvr will demonstrate how its Charger Pro solution is delivering cost reduction and performance benefits for live entertainment and pro AV markets at ISE 2026 (...
27/01/2026
Amino, a global media technology leader in enterprise video and digital signage, today announced that its Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2026 booth (4N700) wil...
27/01/2026
ANI, India's leading news agency and a major content provider across the Asia Pacific region, today announced a significant expansion of its long standing p...
27/01/2026
Independent analysis confirms faster encoding, lower CPU usage, and improved perceptual quality compared to CBR and CRF
VisualOn, a leader in multimedia playba...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
New agreement for uninterrupted UHF connectivity for Australian Defence Force through 2033, With Options Extending to 2041
Luxembourg, January 13, 2026 - Satel...
27/01/2026
Tuesday 27 January 2026
SNL UK creative team expands as Pauli Lovejoy, Annie Ha...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
When It Feels Real, Is It Still a Lie? The Art of Sarah' ...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
That Night premiering on Netflix March 13
Entertainment
27 January 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
DOWNLOAD THE KEY ART
DOWNLO...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Revealed the Future of Mexican Stories Coming in 2026
Entertainment
27 January 2026
GlobalMexico
Link copied to clipboard
Among t...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
Four New Japan Titles Announced for 2026: Viral Hit', On...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
What's Next on Netflix from Japan: Expanding the Possibili...
27/01/2026
AI, graphics and virtual software power new production capabilities...
27/01/2026
RT Supporting the Arts is delighted to support a dynamic programme of cultural events taking place across Ireland this February. From visual art, film, music, ...
26/01/2026
Music videos play a huge part in how fans connect with their favorite songs, but...
26/01/2026
NAIDOC launches 2026 theme 50 Years of Deadly , marks major milestone
25 January, 2026
Media releases
The National NAIDOC Committee has today unveiled its...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) today announced an exclusive partnership with Nu Studio, the company behind the first modular, portable studio designed for immersi...
26/01/2026
OpenDrives, the leader in high-end video data management and workflow solutions, today announced an add-on investment to its previous funding rounds, led by IAG...
26/01/2026
SmallHD today announced a major update to its award-winning PageOS software, introducing Fleet Control, Portrait Mode, expanded Camera Control features, and Dow...
26/01/2026
Whether rigging a PTZ on a truss, sliding a Blackmagic camera across a mezzanine railing, or capturing the mayhem from inside a drum, Filipic delivers visuals t...
26/01/2026
Wuppertal January 26, 2026
Riedel and Media Tailor Deliver Unified Broadcast a...
The WarnerMedia upfront will seem familiar to those who attended Turner's event a year ago with the addition of a new not-so-secret ingredient.
