Good morning. Today, celebrities and sales executives woo TV ad buyers in New York City; AMC turns paying customers into proselytizers; and Fox’s new streaming service angles to win sign-ups without undercutting cable and satellite.

NBCUniversal’s upfront show at Radio City Music Hall yesterday nearly avoided any mention of the tariffs that are poised to complicate TV’s annual selling season, Megan Graham writes for the newsletter. An exception started with a joke that nodded to the event’s self-congratulatory tone:

"This morning, as part of our event, we actually solved all of the tariff issues,” said Mark Marshall, chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCU.

“....But there are economic headwinds,” he acknowledged to the crowd of ad buyers and marketers, “and we want to make sure that everyone is aware of the one thing that we have learned: Brands who stay on the air are 98% more likely to retain their customers.”

Marshall also starred in an entertaining video that portrayed him as a cast member in NBCU properties from “Love Island USA” to “Law & Order: SVU.” He then descended from the rafters to the stage clad in pink à la Glinda in Universal Pictures’ “Wicked.”

More upfronts: NBC signed Michael Jordan to be a “special correspondent” when the network gets the NBA back this fall. [Deadline] 

NBC can anticipate more than a billion dollars in ad revenue next February, when it will carry the Super Bowl, the Olympics and the NBA All-Star Game all in one month. [Front Office Sports]

Amazon pitched advertisers on pause ads that it says will use AI to create messages relevant to what viewers are watching at that moment. [Mediapost] 

Fox also made an AI play, introducing AI-driven media planning and optimization across its portfolio. [Adweek]

AMC Entertainment has built its movie subscription service into a self-perpetuating marketing machine, with nearly one million members who brag about it to anyone who’ll listen, Ann-Marie Alcántara reports.

The main benefit of the AMC Stubs A-List, which is open to anyone 13 or older who’ll pay $20 to $28 a month, is the right to go to up to four movies a week. Perks include a VIP line to buy concessions and the ability to reserve seats for other members as part of an “entourage.”

Members post about it on social media, treat it like a core personality trait and try to enlist friends and family members to join—over and over again.

“That is my Roman Empire, my TED Talk,” said Damilola Laguda, a 32-year-old attorney in Chicago who says the A-List feels like the one rewards program that remains very valuable.

“This is not an accident,” said Adam Aron, AMC’s CEO. “Our company has gone way out of its way to court and attract these people.” He added, “They’re our single best customers of the year and we’re giving them everything we have.”

Fox Corp. said it would start its streaming service that will include Fox News, Fox Sports and other entertainment offerings before the start of the NFL season in September, Dean Seal and Joe Flint write.

The new platform will be called Fox One, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said on a Monday investor call to discuss the company’s latest quarterly results.

Fox’s cable-network business, which includes Fox Sports 1, Fox Business and Fox News, logged a 11% revenue gain driven by higher prices and more digital ad revenue. Affiliate fees got a 3% boost from higher prices that offset declining subscribers.

Fox One will strive not to undermine that affiliate revenue, according to the company.

“We do not want to lose a traditional cable subscriber to Fox One,” Murdoch said, saying the service will target the “cordless community.”

Fox and The Wall Street Journal’s parent company, News Corp, share common ownership.

The head of the Port of Los Angeles warned that a deal to slash tariffs on Chinese goods isn’t enough to bring back imports. [WSJ]

The Trump administration said it would cut the “de minimis” tariff on low-value parcels from China to 54% from 120%, hours after Washington and Beijing agreed to a 90-day trade truce. [WSJ]

Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch began an ad campaign promoting its “American beers and American careers.” [The Drum] 

Have inflation and tariffs set the stage for a golden age of secondhand shopping? [WSJ]

PepsiCo’s Bubly is promising $100,000 in gift cards for moms whose Mother’s Day gifts were disappointments. [Adweek]

The Harlem Globetrotters hired M+C Saatchi for a rebrand as their 100th anniversary nears. [Ad Age] 

Duolingo is facing a backlash on social media over its pledge to use AI instead of expanding headcount in every case possible. [Fast Company] 

Google’s new app icon is earning praise (and some gentle teasing). [Creative Bloq] 

Note: Friday’s newsletter inadvertently linked to an article about SharkNinja that was published May 15, 2024.