Bob Bakish was officially out as CEO ofParamount Global.
I thought, Is this going to derail our messaging?
And we got into the room and it was very clear immediately that that was background and not foreground.
One of Paramount’s upfront dinners for advertisers in the spring of 2024Courtesy
We acknowledged it, we moved on.
But the fact is, weve got a story to tell.
Thats what our partners and clients want to hear.
Theres not an impact on the asset base.
… Theres a refreshing practicality to it all.
It works so much better than the traditional presentation.
I look at the [upfront] week and it just feels more anachronistic than ever to me.
The ad group, he continued, has received unanimous feedback that its a better format.
No one has said they wish it were being done the old way.
Its Super Bowl broadcast last February shattered ratings records and also showed the streaming capabilities ofParamount+.
For the 16th straight season, CBS is the most-watched broadcast online grid.
Its quite refreshing coming out of the strike, Halley said.
The strike really was debilitating for everyone.
Then again, he noted, we looked like geniuses last year by not staging a traditional upfront.
Halley sees the macroeconomic environment improving.
Everything is better this year than it was last year, he said.
Were still in the epilogue of the pandemic, believe it or not.
Its just kind of less and less.
