Abc upfront presentation pitches advertisers on disney, digital, and data

Not much change from last year in the basic business proposition that ABC offered to upfront advertisers today: Forget that it’s the No. 4 network in prime time for 18-to-49 year olds. Execs

touted the “brand halo” (as entertainment chief Paul Lee put it) that Disney and its properties offer ABC. “When you bring them all together they are as unstoppable a force as The Force,”

Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney said in a forced reference to the parent company’s acquisition of _Star Wars_ creator Lucasfilm. Sales President Geri Wang and ESPN sales

chief Ed Erhardt shared the stage to illustrate ways advertisers can mix and match appeals to women and men, for example via New Year’s programming on ABC and games on the sports network.

Wang added that ABC offers more original programming than other networks which “creates great moments for your brands.” RELATED: ABC 2014 Schedule: ‘Scandal’ Moves To 9 PM As Part Of Shonda

Rhimes Thursday; ‘Black-ish’ Gets Post-‘Modern Family’ Slot WATCH ON DEADLINE The network also talked up digital and data. Sweeney says the company will “continue to develop” its WATCH ABC

app. It will offer opportunities to watch live broadcasts from multiple viewpoints, multitask on social media, and share clips with others. That can provide a “more integrated, immersive,

personalized experience…..You get our passion for innovation and technology and the resources we put behind it, and the scope of our brand and the strength of our businesses.” RELATED: ABC’s

Paul Lee Defends ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Move To 8 PM, Cultural Diversity Of New Series, ‘Trophy Wife’ Cancellation In addition, Wang says that ABC will participate in a trial with FreeWheel to

offer programmatic ads — sales that are made by computer based on pre-determined criteria. “The key is to create value for both sides,” she says. The network also will combine data from

different sources so advertisers “can target your very best customers….Our goal is to drive your success.” RELATED: ABC’s New Series Trailers: ‘American Crime’, ‘Selfie’, ‘How To Get Away

With Murder’, ‘Black-Ish’, More Comic Jimmy Kimmel helped to puncture the self-important tone of the sales effort. “The ABC I work at is not No. 1,” he says. “Even Anne Sweeney [who has

announced that she’ll leave] was, ‘The hell with this, I’m out of here’.” With all of its shows involving fairy tales and super heroes “we may be a terrible network but we’re a great

birthday party for a 6 year old.” He also warned advertisers to watch out for programmatic advertising, saying it means “you will all be bartending at Applebees.”