Wednesday Wake-Up Call: Best of the ABC and ESPN upfronts (including the top Jimmy Kimmel jokes)
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Welcome to Ad Age’s Wake-Up Call, our daily roundup of advertising, marketing, media and digital news. What people are talking about today: Did you miss Jimmy Kimmel’s comedy routine at the ABC upfront? Ad Age’s Jeanine Poggi has you covered. Here’s Kimmel poking fun at ABC: “Our new slogan is ‘Forward Together.’ Hillary Clinton had a yard sale, and she let us have that for almost nothing.” And here’s Kimmel making a jab at a rival network: “I have to admit I’m excited about ‘Murphy Brown.’ It’s refreshing to see anything brown on CBS.”
More on ABC: What a difference a year makes. Remember last year’s cringeworthy “Roseanne” reunion at the ABC upfronts pitch to woo advertisers? Back then, as Poggi wrote, “The interaction between Roseanne Barr and John Goodman was awkward and the banter stilted.” Variety advised the cast to work on their chemistry, and The New York Times said the reception in the room was “tepid.” You know where this is going: The “Roseanne” reboot went on to become the most-watched entertainment program on TV, and ABC couldn’t stop talking about it at this year’s upfront. As Poggi writes, Disney Media Networks co-chair and president of Disney-ABC TV Group Ben Sherwood quipped:
“If anyone came to play a drinking game based on how many times we mention ‘Roseanne,’ you’re welcome.” Also, “The last time we had the No. 1 show was 24 years ago,” he continued. “That’s a bit of trivia we’ve conveniently forgotten to mention in the last 24 years.”
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