NBCUniversal focused advertisers’ eyes squarely on its streaming service Peacock during its annual upfront presentation on Monday, only hours after Wall Street was rattled by the blockbuster Discovery-WarnerMedia landmark deal.
TV and streaming content chief for NBCU Susan Rovner sat down with “Today Show” anchor Hoda Kotb on the “Today” set and talked about NBC’s plans for the upcoming season.
“Our number one goal is to bring our audiences the best shows,” Rovner said.
The presentation showed off upcoming Peacock drama “The Thing About Pam” with Renee Zelweger, comedy “Grand Crew” with Nicole Byer, along with comedian Kevin Hart’s forthcoming talk show “Hart to Heart.”
In addition, the upfront, which traditionally would have shown off NBC’s fall schedule, focused not just the broadcast network, but ran the gamut, talking about content from USA, Syfy, E!, Bravo, and other networks.
During the presentation, teasers and promos were also shown for upcoming Peacock exclusives, including dramas like “Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol,” based on characters first seen in “The DaVinci Code,” and Joshua Jackson and Christian Slater’s “Dr. Death”, based on the wildly popular Wondery podcast. Will Smith came on to talk about the upcoming reboot of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” which he is executive producing.
Other news that came out of the presentation included word that “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” which already has a special early evening run on Peacock, has been renewed for five more years.