Upfronts 2026: A+E Global Media
The 2026 Upfronts Season kicked off on March 4 with a half-hour video presentation from A+E Global Media.
A+E Global Media promises advertisers access to more than 70,000 distinct assets across longform, shortform, and everything in between and thousands of new hours of content per year. That includes television, streaming, social, digital, 65 FAST channels, and more. A+E Global brands include: A&E, The History Channel, Lifetime, VICE TV, and Home.Made.Nation.
The company says that its reach extends to more than 400 million households in over 200 territories and more than 40 languages.
“Our cross-platform reach is more impactful than any one element,” President of Ad Sales Toby Byrne told The Hollywood Reporter. “Our off-linear audience is more than half of our total audience now. So taking advantage of the totality of our audience and all of our distribution endpoints, digital and linear, is important so that we can provide the most impact for our advertisers.”
The Heavyweights
The star-studded video announced not only a slew of new programs but a number of new talent deals with celebrities.
Among them:
History’s Strange Fortunes with Kevin Bacon (History)
Extraordinary Origins with Ted Danson (History)
Crime and Justice with Tom Selleck (History)
History’s Greatest Machines with Dolph Lundgren (History)
K9 PD with Jim Belushi (A&E)
These join shows hosted by the likes of Dan Aykroyd, David Duchovny, Tom Hanks, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Danny Trejo, Toni Braxton, and others.
Henry Czerny, Sherri Shepherd, Valerie Bertinelli, Taraji P. Henson, and Eric McCormack are among those listed as new talent relationships, whether they be exec producing or starring in content.
Live Sports
You’d be hard-pressed to host an upfront presentation these days without at least mentioning live sports. VICE TV is home to a number of offerings, including: Professional Fighters League, Legacy Fighting Alliance, BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing, Major League Volleyball, and AF1 Arena Football.
Influencers and Micro Dramas
According to Byrne, the company “expects to significantly expand our influencer partners.” It’s kicking things off with Tiff Biara and Lifetime.
Taye Diggs is exec producing a micro drama in vertical format called Tides of Temptation, which is a digital spinoff of new original Lifetime movie Terry McMillan Presents: Paradise with You.
Storyground
As part of its presentation, A+E introduces Storyground, which it describes as a “new brand creative studio designed to further extend the company’s multiplatform storytelling capabilities and deepen collaboration with brands, partners and creators through bespoke, audience-driven creative solutions.” It will produce “bespoke, creative executions for brands across linear, digital and social media.”
President of Marketing & Digital Juliana Stock said Storyground would continue A+E’s tradition of “choosing soul over spectacle,” which lets storytellers — and brands — turn “conversation into connection and connection into enduring loyalty”
“World-class talent choose our trusted brands as the home to tell their stories,” said Paul Buccieri, President & Chairman, A+E Global Media. “That passion, mixed with purpose, is why audiences return to us again and again. With the launch of Storyground, we’re further building upon our expertise as premium and innovative storytellers – deepening audience engagement and creating meaningful value for our partners.”