Olympics, Super Bowl and NBA drive NBCUniversal’s largest upfront to date

NBCUniversal announced Tuesday it has concluded its 2025-26 upfront negotiation cycle, reporting the highest ad sales volume in the company’s history. The results were driven by expanded live programming, the addition of NBA coverage and continued investment in digital and streaming platforms.

The company’s upfront performance was supported by three major sporting events: the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, Super Bowl LX and the FIFA World Cup. Combined sales for these tentpoles surpassed all previous benchmarks.

Mark Marshall, chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, said the company went to market earlier than in previous years to align its content with advertiser goals. “The response has been extraordinary,” Marshall said. NBCUniversal reported reaching 286 million people monthly through its cross-platform offerings.

Sports programming saw significant growth, with NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, Golf Channel and USA Network experiencing increased demand. The company added 20 percent more sports clients compared to the previous year and recorded a 45 percent year-over-year increase in volume beyond the three major tentpole events.

Telemundo posted its strongest upfront to date, with revenue for the 2026 FIFA World Cup already exceeding totals from the previous tournament, more than 10 months ahead of kickoff. BravoCon also experienced record interest, with returning sponsors increasing their investment for category exclusivity.

Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, accounted for nearly one-third of total upfront commitments. The platform reported over 20 percent year-over-year growth in advertiser investment. This helped NBCUniversal deliver its largest digital upfront to date.

Traditional broadcast areas including news, sports and entertainment also saw growth, with a nearly 15 percent increase year over year. The addition of NBA coverage contributed to this trend, with more than one-quarter of NBCUniversal’s NBA advertisers being new to broadcast.

Bravo accounted for nearly 20 percent of NBCUniversal’s entertainment advertising across broadcast and cable. The networks slated for Comcast’s future spin-off company Versant saw nearly a 10 percent increase in client investment.

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NBCUniversal added 30 percent more small and medium-sized business clients than in the previous upfront cycle. Additionally, 60 percent of advertising investments were based on advanced audience targeting rather than traditional demographic segments.

The company’s programmatic ad business brought in nearly $1 billion in commitments, with sports and live events included in programmatic offerings since 2023.

Revenue growth was reported across categories such as retail, restaurants, automotive, travel and financial services, with each area increasing by approximately 12 percent. NBCUniversal also cited strong demand for studio-adjacent properties including Fandango.

For the 2025-26 cycle, NBCUniversal sold its full portfolio — across linear and streaming — under the One Platform framework. It will continue to represent domestic advertising inventory for Versant brands such as CNBC, E!, Golf Channel, MSNBC, Oxygen, Syfy and USA Network during the upcoming upfront cycle.