CBS Puts on a Happy Face for Ad Buyers Amid Off-Stage Tensions

JOHN: After presentations by NBC, Fox and ABC that didn’t do much to hide the fact that network television is in trouble, we were treated to the strangest presentation yet, with the CBS event at Carnegie Hall. On one hand: CBS delivered the most impressive upfront of the week. It was the short and to the point. It was confident. The theatrics were superb. On the other hand: Just minutes before the network’s longtime leader, Leslie Moonves, took the stage, a Delaware court released a ruling on the legal fight between CBS and its corporate parent, National Amusements. The court battle may end soon — or it could go on for months. What it means for Moonves is difficult to say right now. But there is a good chance that this was his last appearance at a CBS upfront presentation. When he got a standing ovation from the ad buyers in the audience, it seemed that everyone in the crowd knew that it may have been his last hurrah.

SAPNA: The reaction from advertisers was striking — and Moonves showed that he knew how to work a crowd when he kicked off his remarks with: “So. How’s your week been?” His appearance stole the thunder from the network’s hyping of its hit sitcom “Young Sheldon” and even John Malkovich, who appeared in an opening sizzle reel to rave reviews. JOHN: Ad buyers don’t like to jump out of their seats at these things — ad prices could go up if the network senses that it has the upper hand. We saw a standing ovation at the NBC presentation on Monday, but that was for the U.S. Olympic hockey team, not some network executive.

SAPNA: That was for America!

JOHN: Speaking of America …

SAPNA: Go on.

JOHN: I have a few questions for you. Before today, my millennial colleague, how familiar were you with “Murphy Brown”?

SAPNA: Murphy who?

JOHN: Brown.

SAPNA: OK, so about halfway through the trailer that CBS showed today, it became clear to me that Murphy Brown is a journalist — but I had no idea before that. The show, which CBS is rebooting for the fall season, entered my consciousness only recently, while I was researching advertiser controversies and stumbled upon a New York Times story from 1992 about the reaction to Murphy Brown having a child “out of wedlock.” That feels … not that long ago.

JOHN: We also learned today that the rebooted “Murphy Brown” will have the title character hosting a morning cable news show, à la “Morning Joe.” The twist? Her son is the host of a rival morning cable news show similar to “Fox & Friends.” OK, next question: How familiar were you with “Magnum P.I.”? (Note to persnickety readers: The reboot, unlike the original, has no punctuation between “Magnum” and “PI” — something that was, apparently, the source of long debate at CBS. Commas, it turns out, are death for online searches.)

SAPNA: I’m pretty sure it was a movie at some point, right?

JOHN: Not a movie, but I’ll allow it.

SAPNA: I think it had something to do with a gun or a detective. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s been referenced on “Parks and Recreation” or “The Simpsons”? Gosh, I wish I could Ctrl+F my mind! But, John, you’re taking forever to get to my favorite part of this presentation — the show where God is lurking on Facebook.

JOHN: “God Friended Me.” Which will appear on Sunday night, after the seemingly indestructible “60 Minutes.”

SAPNA: I have so, so many thoughts on this — and I promise, it has nothing to do with the fact that Hindus are polytheistic. I’d feel similarly if friend requests were coming from Krishna and Lakshmi. As we were reminded repeatedly at the CBS after-party, “Touched by an Angel” and “Joan of Arcadia” were hits. But in this case, the celestial being is literally using Facebook. Like, God has a Facebook account and friends a podcast host, who, apparently, is in need of divine intervention. Is this really Zuck’s master plan? How did we pivot so quickly from Russian election interference and bots to … this? Aren’t there going to be at least a few episodes of “60 Minutes” where America’s top newscasters are grilling Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg right before this airs?

JOHN: Well, here’s one trailer we did like: “Happy Together,” an 8:30 show on CBS’ new — and surprisingly diverse — Monday night lineup. I laughed once and maybe even twice during the trailer. And how about this? It has Harry Styles as an executive producer.

SAPNA: That was adorable. I caught shades of “Win a Date With Tad Hamilton” — one of the more underrated movies in rom-com history — in this trailer. Don’t @ me.

JOHN: Let’s take a moment to give out the late night scorecard: NBC gave Seth Meyers lots of stage time during its presentation and snubbed Jimmy Fallon (for the second year in a row); ABC gave an enormous block of time to Jimmy Kimmel; and CBS had both Stephen Colbert and James Corden on the Carnegie Hall stage.

SAPNA: Cord-cutters might be a concern at CBS, but Corden-cutters are not. JOHN: One thing we heard a little less of in the CBS presentation: Not much ad-sales talk.

SAPNA: So true — but one line from CBS today was: “Unlike those who are focused on commercial loads, we do not believe that advertising is ruining the television business.” Throw that line out on a Saturday night, John, and it might not get your friends cheering, but, boy, did that resonate with this crowd.

JOHN: And what — or who — will that crowd be cheering for next year? The conversation on Thursday will center on one topic: Les Moonves. Reflecting on the upfronts during his time on the Carnegie Hall stage, he said, “Each network has their story to tell and new stories to share with you. Of course, I personally consider CBS’ to be the greatest story ever told.” On some level, Moonves may know that this was his swan song.