With a $110 billion merger with Paramount Skydance looming, it’s not your typical upfront for Warner Bros. Discovery. Or is it?
Ahead of the company’s upfront event for advertisers on May 13, WBD’s ad sales leaders, Ryan Gould and Bobby Voltaggio, recently outlined their priorities to ADWEEK, which were threefold: proving that the cultural relevance of WBD content drives outcomes; understanding clients and working from a consultative approach amid upfront negotiations; and guiding ad sales through the Paramount merger, which is expected to close in Q3.
“It’s using and leveraging our relationships as well as our track record to be able to instill confidence that Bobby, I, and the team can steward business through the Paramount transition,” Gould said. “Frankly speaking, that is obviously going to be a thing that we’re both dealing with post-negotiation.”
However, a mega merger isn’t unfamiliar territory for the pair. Both were at the company for the $43 billion Warner and Discovery merger, which came together in 2022 with former WBD ads leader Jon Steinlauf overseeing the team’s transition. According to Gould, this experience is no different.
With the companies still going through the regulatory process, Voltaggio noted they couldn’t “pontificate on the future”—however, the pair could allay any fears.
“This wonderful portfolio of world-class IP is still going to be intact,” Voltaggio said. “[Advertisers] can still transact against any of the endpoints. And we’re here to see it through until the merger happens.”
Gould also compared the situation to the multibillion-dollar Omnicom-IPG merger from late last year. Though they may not be able to talk about details, the buy-side and sell-side can still plan accordingly.
Previewing their upfront presentation, the pair said their event at Madison Square Garden will last between 60 and 70 minutes and be “bold, bright, and brief.” This year will lean into IP, content, and talent, with the ads leaders, as well as Karen Bronzo, chief global marketing officer for U.S. networks and CNN; Dana Nussbaum, co-head of Warner Bros. theatrical; and Shauna Spenley, global CMO for streaming, taking the stage to give a marketer’s perspective.
Speaking with ADWEEK, Gould and Voltaggio revealed the behind-the-scenes prep the company is doing ahead of the upfront presentation amid the Paramount merger, got candid about changing to more performance-based measurement, and revealed why WBD chose to stay in upfront week this year.
ADWEEK: At one point, ahead of the Paramount merger, WBD was going to split into two companies, and Discovery Global was taking the lead on the upfront. Now, it’s WBD’s upfront event again. How did the presentation change at all behind the scenes?
