Turner, the global content leader across all screens and platforms, is lighting up The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City this morning with a powerful message that includes premium content from its portfolio of top-rated media brands, as well as forward-thinking innovations for advertisers and especially consumers. Turner's message is backed up with some extraordinary results from the company's ongoing efforts to transform the viewing experience, as well as its progressive and industry-leading approach to advertising.
Turner's portfolio of leading entertainment, kids, news and sports brands - including Adult Swim, Bleacher Report, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, CNN, Great Big Story, HLN, TBS, TNT,
truTV and Turner Sports - are being highlighted throughout the presentation. Across its portfolio, Turner is delivering rich content experiences that drive engagement across all screens in a way that is most appealing and satisfying to the core audiences using them.
The Turner Upfront 2016 presentation this morning includes a number of new announcements that demonstrate the company's commitment to transforming the viewing experience, expanding platform availability and investing in premium content. They join several recent announcements made about new series greenlights and development projects.
Turner is set to expand the availability of its brands to subscribers through a portfolio-wide initiative to launch on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Google Chromecast. The rollout will begin in June with
TBS and
TNT apps launching on select platforms, followed by additional brands later in the year.
Team Coco, the team who has helped drive
CONAN O'Brien's remarkable digital and social media strength, will now collaborate with brands to deliver original, social-first content through the brand new Team Coco Digital Studios.
TNT has given the greenlight to Will, a new drama series about the wild younger days of William Shakespeare.
TNT has also ordered a pilot for Civil, a drama about a second civil war in the United States, and cast Niecy Nash (Reno 911,
SCREAM Queens, The Mindy Project) in Claws, a wickedly funny dramedy set in a Florida nail salon.
CNN is looking to continue its growth streak with three new series greenlights: Soundtracks: Songs That Made History (working title), The History of Comedy and The Nineties.
Adult Swim has ordered a pilot for a new series from Childrens Hospital creator and star Rob Corddry. Last week,
Adult Swim announced it has ordered the new live-action series Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace and Dream Corp, LLC, along with the new special Robot Chicken: The Walking Dead.
truTV's slate of newly greenlit series includes Jon Glaser Loves Gear, Greatest Ever and Lifescaping (working title), as well as its feature-length documentary The Problem with Apu (working title) and an-all new
IMPRACTICAL JOKERS live special.
"Last year, I stood in front of you and stated that Turner would help lead the transformation of our industry," Donna Speciale, president of Turner Ad Sales, told the audience of advertisers, agencies and journalists. "Our vision has not changed. We are doing it. We have transformed to be a data-driven content creation and distribution company that puts the consumer first."
Over the past nine months, Turner has introduced a wealth of new programming with outstanding results, including the hit
TBS comedies Angie Tribeca, The Detour and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, the first salvo in the network's extensive rebrand; Cartoon Network's re-imagined The Powerpuff Girls; and truTV's new hit shows Billy on the Street and Adam Ruins Everything. The company also successfully launched the millennial-targeted digital brand Great Big Story. And
CNN Digital Studios premiered the new three-part film series Giving Birth in America, as well as new installments of its ongoing Future of Adventure series.
During this year's Upfront season, Turner will roll out 13,000 hours of original content, from high-quality dramas, comedies, animation and specials to world-class sports and news coverage. The roster features nearly 1,000 hours of scripted and unscripted series and specials, including the hotly anticipated
TNT dramas
ANIMAL Kingdom this summer, Good Behavior in the fall and The Alienist, Tales from the Crypt; TBS's new comedies Wrecked, Search Party and People of Earth; a new three-hour daily program on
HLN to be hosted by seasoned journalist Michaela Pereira; and the newly announced projects from Adult Swim,
CNN and truTV.
More than 50 stars from across the Turner portfolio are walking the red carpet leading into Turner Upfront 2016, which opened with Anderson Cooper (CNN's AC360) moderating a debate between
CONAN O'Brian (TBS's CONAN) and Charles Barkley (TNT's Inside the NBA) on the state of today's media environment and the future of television.
The talent roster attending this morning's presentation includes Adam Conover (truTV's Adam Ruins Everything); Rashida Jones, Hayes MacArthur, Jere Burns, Deon Cole and Andrée Vermeulen (TBS's Angie Tribeca); Ellen Barkin, Scott Speedman and Shawn Hatosy (TNT's
ANIMAL Kingdom); Billy Eichner (truTV's Billy on the Street); Michael Carbonaro (truTV's The Carbonaro Effect);
DAMIEN Lemon (truTV's Comedy Knockout); Andy Richter (TBS's CONAN); Jason Jones and Natalie Zea (TBS's The Detour); Eric Andre (Adult Swim's The Eric Andre Show); Samantha Bee (TBS's Full Frontal with Samantha Bee); Michelle Dockery, Juan Diego Botto, Terry Kinney and Lusia Struss (TNT's Good Behavior); Kevin Pereira and Brooke Van Poppelan (truTV's Hack My Life); Joe Gatto, James "Murr" Murray, Brian "Q" Quinn and Sal Vulcano (truTV's Impractical Jokers); Charles Barkley (TNT's Inside the NBA); Wyatt Cenac (TBS's People of Earth); Breckin Meyer (Adult Swim's Robot Chicken); Alia Shawkat, John Early, John Rogers, Meredith Hagner and Brandon Micheal-Hall (TBS's Search Party); Adam Cayton-Holland, Andrew Orvedahl, Ben Roy and Maria Thayer (truTV's Those Who Can't); and Zach Cregger, Brian Sacca, Rhys Darby, Ally Maki, Ginger Gonzaga, Jessica Lowe, Asif Ali, Will Greenberg and Brooke Dillman (TBS's Wrecked). In addition, Laurie Davidson, Olivia DeJonge, Colm Meaney, Mattias Inwood, Jamie Campbell Bower and Ewen Bremner of TNT's newly greenlit series Will are slated to be on hand for the event.
Also attending are personalities from
CNN and HLN, including Dana Bash (Chief Political Correspondent), Wolf Blitzer (The Situation Room), Anthony Bourdain (Parts Unknown), Erin Burnett (OutFront), Alisyn Camerota (New Day), Chris Cuomo (New Day), Don Lemon (CNN Tonight), Brian Stelter (Reliable Sources), Jake Tapper (The Lead, State of the Union), John Walsh (The Hunt), Robin Meade (HLN's Morning Express) and Michaela Pereira (HLN Host).
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