Upfront week is over, but all the latest season’s trends are still the talk of the Ton.
From publishers like Netflix bringing advertisers into the worlds of their shows, such as Bridgerton, to the continued shifting marketplace for sports—and whatever is happening with measurement—we’re keeping an eye on all the storylines brands and marketers should follow.
At ADWEEK, we’ve spoken to ad leaders from all the upfront week presenters, including Disney, Netflix, Amazon, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, and more, and here are some of the top trends to watch as upfront season unfolds:
Agentic is already impacting advertising
Agentic was a hot topic throughout upfront presentations, as companies showcased new offerings, including Fox’s new AdStudio bringing agentic media planning and buying in the coming months. Plus, Netflix will have a new suite of AI tools, with AI agents autonomously managing and optimizing purchases on the platform.
Though different companies have different definitions of what agentic looks like—whether that be agents managing budgets on their own or programmatic becoming more efficient—the goal is to make things seamless for customers, according to Robert Voltaggio, president of ad sales, platform monetization, Warner Bros. Discovery.
“It’s very important for us in terms of, again, the evolution of our tech stack, to not only meet the market where it stands today, but be agile and nimble enough to meet the market where it’s going. And I think agentic AI is, at the very core, that’s what it’s really used for,” Voltaggio said.
However, it’s also worth noting that today’s agentic may not necessarily look like tomorrow’s.
“If I could bet anything, I would say that our view of it right now will probably be very different in three years as the space evolves,” Amy Reinhard, president of advertising, Netflix, recently told ADWEEK.
Key World Cup Trends to Watch
World Cup 2026 viewership will be even more fragmented than in 2022. Using our signal-based tools to track unique past, present, and future-looking data, our latest Nexxen U report predicts fan behavior for 2026—and how it will reshape viewing across platforms well beyond the tournament.
- 3% will watch on CTV (+14% vs. 2022)
- 19M incremental viewers will follow highlights and news—not live matches
- 49% will seek free ways to watch (e.g., FAST, bars, friends’ homes)
