NBCU Upfront

Each May, my team drives the creative for NBCU Ad Sales’ biggest event of the year: the NBCU Upfront Presentation at Radio City Music Hall.

Over the past 5 years, my role has morphed and grown, giving me the opportunity to do a little bit of everything, including:

• Developing and scripting video content for key content categories including News, Reality, and Returning Scripted

• Translating an executive’s approved concept into a comic video and entrance

• Conceiving of larger-than-life on-stage moments for tentpole events like BravoCon and NBCU’s holiday programming

• Coming up with creative sparks for key on-stage moments to be developed by big-name comedy talent (including Seth MacFarlane, Matt Rogers, and Bowen Yang)

• Scripting the live-streamed pre-show for virtual attendees and post-event recap videos

• Playing a key role in script development by drafting certain sections and revising and punching up others

The Upfront poses a unique creative problem: it’s a sales pitch for the ad inventory across the company’s entire portfolio, set in an iconic entertainment venue, with an audience that’s largely checking work emails on their phone, and celebrities who…well, let’s just say they didn’t get into the entertainment business because they love getting all dressed up to read two lines off a teleprompter to an audience of marketing executives in business casual attire.

My creative approach to the Upfront tends to be very objective-driven and audience-focused. From self-aware comedy that pulls attention away from the smartphones in people’s laps to a short film revealing just how omnipresent NBCU and Versant’s news properties are throughout our lives to on-stage moments that give advertisers a taste of the feeling our events evoke, every piece of creative I touch has a mission. And all those missions add up towards the event’s greater goal: getting brands to spend a whole lot of money advertising with NBCU.

Awards

I’m proud to have played a small role in making the Upfront an award-winning event year after year.

COMEDY & TALENT WRITING

As my Upfront involvement has grown over the years, so has the company’s trust in my ability to craft remarks and write jokes for some of the biggest names in comedy. When we need talent to be both funny and relevant to the event, I’m typically tasked with drafting the first round of their remarks, laying out the architecture for a successful appearance, and providing a bunch of jokes too. I’ve done something along these lines for a number of our most recognizable talent including Ana Gasteyer (One22 Tech Conference, Make-a-Wish Gala), Marcello Hernandez (Telemundo Upfront), Seth Meyers (Comcast’s Converge), Kenan Thompson (Comcast’s Converge), Tina Fey (2026 NBCU Upfront), and Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang (Vive Le Live @ Cannes 2025). Deadline’s coverage of Seth Meyers’ pre-taped segment for Comcast’s Converge even featured two of my original jokes that made it into the final piece.