As the upfront negotiation cycle kicks off, the divide between traditional linear television and connected streaming platforms is reshaping how brands, agencies, and publishers transact. In a recent Ad Age feature, 15 media buyers and sellers weighed in on where the marketplace is headed—tackling outcome-based commitments, agentic AI, and platform fragmentation.

Among the featured leaders was Michael Piner, Executive Vice President of Partnerships and Investments at MissionOne Media, who shared critical perspective on what advertisers actually need from media owners this upfront season.

The upfront landscape: key industry takeaways.

The 2026 upfront market reflects a distinct shift away from traditional vanity metrics toward tangible business results:

  • From Proxy Metrics to Real Business Impact: Buyers and sellers alike are pushing to structure deals around bottom-line outcomes (incremental reach, site traffic, and sales conversion) rather than basic reach, frequency, and demo guarantees.
  • Pragmatic AI vs. Stagecraft: As agentic AI and programmatic automation take center stage, the priority has shifted from theoretical demos to practical workflow tools that streamline cross-channel planning and execution.
  • Tackling Streaming Fragmentation: The influx of CTV supply across disconnected streaming ecosystems has created friction in measurement and buying efficiency, increasing pressure on networks to simplify distribution and transaction pipelines.

In the spotlight: Michael Piner’s perspective.

While much of the upfront discourse centers on ad tech pipes and live sports dominance, Michael brought the conversation back to content strategy, viewer connection, and distribution clarity.

Expected change: The continued trend of reducing the focus on the data and ad-tech pipes of TV’s paid advertising ecosystem. This has increasingly been covered in presentations to agencies and advertisers earlier in the year, from partners such as Disney in their data and tech showcase at CES.

Nice-to-have change: Less focus on major sports, which we all know dominate TV screen viewership and reach. Instead, we would like to see more focus put on highlighting major original IP and content that advertisers and brands may utilize to connect with consumers. Additionally, shorter presentations (under 1.5 hours!) with increased focus on the above.

Need-to-have change: More on the re-budling roadmap and how these massive legacy media owners and big digital platforms plan to connect the increasingly fragmented distribution of highly quality original IP and content—including how advertisers will more easily be able to connect with consumers as ad-supported sponsors of this content across all types of channels, formats and distributors.

Read the full coverage.

  • Read the full story on Ad Age.