Events like the San-Diego Comic-Con are popular because they are televised – they draw ratings. People from all around the world tune in each year to witness the new direction the entertainment industry takes. Will Microsoft smash the competition and put Sony to shame again? Will the Avengers 2 be making its debut in the summer as expected? Events like Comic-Con are for us, the fans.

But what about events such as Upfronts? Cartoon Network recently had their Upfront, and now Nickelodeon will have their Upfront on the 26^th. Is it really a big deal that I never even knew what an “Upfront” was until a few weeks ago?

No, not at all. Why? Upfronts aren’t even meant for our viewing.

Mike DiMartino recently explained that the only way people were able to watch the Upfront last year was via a stream that might have come out after the show was over. The reason why the Nickelodeon Upfront 2013 is not televised is because Nickelodeon does not expect us to watch it. They aren’t concerned about the ratings because the event is not meant for us.

The Upfront is meant for a more sophisticated band of people known as advertisers. Last March, Mike and Bryan attended the Nickelodeon Upfront in order to help kick off their new series. At the Upfront, they released new details about Book 1 which included a release date as well as a trailer. After the event was over, Bryan wrote about it on his Tumblr Blog:

According to this, I finally have some talent! Or at least some guy named Byran Konietzko does…
In actuality, it turns out I have no talent in reading a TelePrompTer. I botched most of my lines as Mike and I introduced our new series at our first Upfronts, a network presentation to the ad buyers. Despite my hack performance, it was a good time. Bye New York! Thanks for the great weather!

Besides belittling his performance, Bryan basically explains that the point of an Upfront is for potential advertisers to take note of their options for advertising on specific Networks. Advertisers who attend the Nickelodeon Upfront most likely have an interest in advertising their product during the commercial breaks of Nickelodeon shows. Therefore, they want to ensure that the yearly lineup will draw a crowd that would be interested in the product being advertised.

So in short, yes, the Nickelodeon Upfront is a spectacular news source for upcoming series’. But the news isn’t really meant for us. It’s meant for potential advertisers so the Network can make money. The media just takes that news and releases it to the public so everyone can break out in a frenzy of excitement.

Hopefully this helps to shed some light on what the Nickelodeon Upfront is really all about.

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