NBCU Leans More Heavily on ‘SNL’ for Ad Dollars
variety.comBrian Steinberg Senior TV Editor NBCUniversal is, for a quick moment, taking “Live, from New York” to a lounge found in a beach-side resort in France.
Fresh episodes of “Saturday Night Live” have been in short supply in the U.S. due to the Hollywood writers strike, but NBC’s late-night mainstay could generate some interest on Wednesday at the Cannes Lions advertising festival.
In a showcase led by NBC News’ Willie Geist, “SNL” executive producer Lorne Michaels will hold forth with cast members Bowen Yang, Chloe Fineman, Mikey Day and Ego Nwodim as part of a broader bid by NBCUniversal to get Madison Avenue to align itself with the program at it nears its 50th season in the fall of 2024.
At Cannes, says Mark Marshall, NBCU’s interim chairman of advertising and partnerships, advertisers “have much more of an idea of what they are looking to do with their marketing,” as opposed to earlier in the year. “The meetings are more collaborative, more tactical.’ NBCU will also use Cannes to tout the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, says Marshall, hoping that the idea of sponsoring the athletic extravaganza in the summer and the landmark “SNL” season in fall and in 2025 will spur some to buy broader packages tied to both shows.
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