Now that the U.S. Upfronts are over, and all the celebrities have been packed up and shipped home to Hollywood (presumably), it’s time to get ready for the Canadian version beginning in the next few weeks.

But before the major Canadian broacasters begin their presentations, there’s an opportunity to reflect on what we learned from the big broadcasters and streamers in New York last week. Media in Canada asked our on-the-ground columnists, Jeremy Johnston, director, activations at PHD, and Jenny Croswell, EVP, head of investment and agency operations at Horizon, for their final thoughts on the upfronts down South.

“This year’s events felt like what they used to be,” says Johnston. “It had stars, exciting announcements, some great music. With the pandemic and writer’s strike disrupting past events this was a nice change.” That said, the shadow of the writer’s strike still lingered, as Crosswell noted that much of the new content is only slated to launch in 2025.

As streamers follow in the footsteps of cable and experiment with bundling, Croswell noticed that the content categories and delivery methods are also continuing to blur.

“The companies that were once considered traditional broadcasters are looking to monetize any and all premium video content, including film, documentary film, event programming,” she says. “Gone are the days of a broadcast network primetime grid – content is now promoted and delivered across network TV and the network’s streamers a la Peacock, Hulu, Disney+.”

“The streamers [also] came to play [with] some big announcements [around] subscriptions numbers [and] their ad tech advancement,” Johnston says. “And all are leaning in hard with their ad supported offering. All [of the streamers] had some big sports content news, which should be something to watch more in the coming year.”

“Huge portions of the upfront presentations were dedicated to league rights,” adds Croswell. “Traditional media companies reinforced their commitment to live sports, particularly women’s sport and the streaming services touted their newly negotiated deals. This fragmentation will certainly make the trading environment more complex for media buyers and the viewing environment more expensive for consumers.”

According to Johnston, that complexity might lead to some wariness among advertisers. “I think advertisers are going to be a little cautious this year,” he says. “I still think there is some uncertainty of how much should be spent where. Do they jump all in with the digital players and hope that the audience is there, or do they stick with linear and their proven brands.”