Turner Comes to 2016-2017 Upfront with a Powerful Brand Portfolio and Bold Moves, Delivering More Content, More Solutions and More Results
In a star-studded event hosted at Madison Square Garden, Turner, the global content leader across all screens and platforms, revealed their exciting new programming and platform expansion plans, which would incorporate not only premium content from its portfolio of top-rated media brands but also forward-thinking innovations for advertisers and especially consumers. This new plan is backed up by some extraordinary results from the company’s ongoing efforts to transform the viewing experience, as well as its progressive and industry-leading approach to advertising.
Throughout the presentation, Turner’s portfolio of leading entertainment in news, sports and kids programming–including Adult Swim, Bleacher Report, Cartoon Network, Boomeran, CNN, Great Big Story, HLN, TBS, TNT, truTV and Turner Sports–were highlighted. Across this portfolio, Turner promised to deliver rich content experiences that drive engagement across all screens in a way that is most appealing and satisfying to the core audiences using them.
As David Levy, president of Turner, states: “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. Not only are we engaged in a massive effort to improve the viewing experience across our brands but 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.”
The Turner Upfront 2016 presentation this morning included a number of new announcements that demonstrate the company’s commitment to transforming the viewing experience, expanding platform availability and investing in premium content. They joined several recent announcements made about new series greenlights and development projects. During the presentation, Turner unveiled the following:
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 O’Brien’s 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 (Reno 911, Scream Queens, The Mindy Project) 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.
truTV’s 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.
During this year’s Upfront season, Turner declared that it 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; TBS’s 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.
All of this is intended to maintain Turner’s reputation as a leader in the industry. “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.” With their thrilling roster of shows, both new and old, there can be little doubt that Turner will achieve this objective and continue to push the envelope in terms of programming.