Turner Comes to 2016-17 Upfront with a Powerful Brand Portfolio and Bold Moves May 18, 2016Turner Comes to 2016-17 Upfront with a Powerful Brand Portfolio & Bold Moves, Delivering More Content, More Solutions and More Results
Turners Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, CNN, HLN, TBS, TNT, truTV, Turner Sports, Bleacher Report, Great Big Story and More Take Center Stage in Star-Studded Event Packed with Announcements about New Programming, Platform Expansion And a Portfolio-Wide Focus on Creating a Better Viewing Experience
Turner, the global content leader across all screens and platforms, is lighting up The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City this morning with a powerful message that includes premium content from its portfolio of top-rated media brands, as well as forward-thinking innovations for advertisers and especially consumers. Turners message is backed up with some extraordinary results from the companys ongoing efforts to transform the viewing experience, as well as its progressive and industry-leading approach to advertising.
Turners portfolio of leading entertainment, kids, news and sports brands - including Adult Swim, Bleacher Report, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, CNN, Great Big Story, HLN, TBS, TNT, truTV and Turner Sports - are being highlighted throughout the presentation. Across its portfolio, Turner is delivering rich content experiences that drive engagement across all screens in a way that is most appealing and satisfying to the core audiences using them.
When it comes to leading the transformation of this industry, engaging audiences across all platforms and reinvesting for success, Turner is delivering on all fronts, said David Levy, president of Turner. Not only are we engaged in a massive effort to improve the viewing experience across our brands, Turner is also leading the industry with an extremely progressive approach to advertising, strategic investments in technology and platforms, partnerships with emerging companies and innovative distribution concepts that go beyond the traditional television ecosystem. Most importantly, we have been investing heavily in premium content across the portfolio, from original series to live events, sports and more.
Turner Upfront News
The Turner Upfront 2016 presentation this morning includes a number of new announcements that demonstrate the companys commitment to transforming the viewing experience, expanding platform availability and investing in premium content. They join several recent announcements made about new series greenlights and development projects.
Turner is set to expand the availability of its brands to subscribers through a portfolio-wide initiative to launch on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Google Chromecast. The rollout will begin in June with TBS and TNT apps launching on select platforms, followed by additional brands later in the year.
Team Coco, the team who has helped drive Conan OBriens remarkable digital and social media strength, will now collaborate with brands to deliver original, social-first content through the brand new Team Coco Digital Studios.
TNT has given the greenlight to Will, a new drama series about the wild younger days of William Shakespeare. TNT has also ordered a pilot for Civil, a drama about a second civil war in the United States, and cast Niecy Nash (Getting On, Soul Man) in Claws, a wickedly funny dramedy set in a Florida nail salon.
CNN is looking to continue its growth streak with three new series greenlights: Soundtracks: Songs That Made History (working title), The History of Comedy and The Nineties.
Adult Swim has ordered a pilot for a new series from Childrens Hospital creator and star Rob Corddry. Last week, Adult Swim announced it has ordered the new live-action series Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace and Dream Corp, LLC, along with the new special Robot Chicken: The Walking Dead.
truTVs slate of newly greenlit series includes Jon Glaser Loves Gear, Greatest Ever and Lifescaping (working title), as well as its feature-length documentary The Problem with Apu (working title) and an-all new Impractical Jokers live special.
Last year, I stood in front of you and stated that Turner would help lead the transformation of our industry, Donna Speciale, president of Turner Ad Sales, told the audience of advertisers, agencies and journalists. Our vision has not changed. We are doing it. We have transformed to be a data-driven content creation and distribution company that puts the consumer first.
Turner Content
Over the past nine months, Turner has introduced a wealth of new programming with outstanding results, including the hit TBS comedies Angie Tribeca, The Detour and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, the first salvo in the networks extensive rebrand; Cartoon Networks re-imagined The Powerpuff Girls; and truTVs new hit shows Billy on the Street and Adam Ruins Everything. The company also successfully launched the millennial-targeted digital brand Great Big Story. And CNN Digital Studios premiered the new three-part film series Giving Birth in America, as well as new installments of its ongoing Future of Adventure series.
During this years Upfront season, Turner will roll out 13,000 hours of original content, from high-quality dramas, comedies, animation and specials to world-class sports and news coverage. The roster features nearly 1,000 hours of scripted and unscripted series and specials, including the hotly anticipated TNT dramas Animal Kingdom this summer, Good Behavior in the fall and The Alienist, Tales from the Crypt; TBSs new comedies Wrecked, Search Party and People of Earth; a new three-hour daily program on HLN to be hosted by seasoned journalist Michaela Pereira; and the newly announced projects from Adult Swim, CNN and truTV.
Turner Success
Driven by its powerful portfolio of brands and premium content, Turner
