Upfronts.

The Biggest Night of the Year for A+E Global Media

Year after year, Northern Lights leads editorial, creative direction and audio for A+E Global Media’s annual Upfront — a major ad-sales event that brings the company’s networks, talent, programming and business priorities together in one seamless, 22+ minute presentation designed to excite advertisers, agency partners and the marketplace.

With significant ad revenue at stake, each Upfront has to do more than showcase what’s new. It has to turn a wide-ranging portfolio of programming, talent, platforms and partnerships into a persuasive case for why advertisers should believe— demonstrating the audiences A+E can reach, the cultural relevance of its content, and the range of opportunities available to brands across its ecosystem.

And that work starts long before the final edit.

Northern Lights develops editorial animatics that help shape executive shoots and establish the structure and flow of the presentation, giving the production team a creative roadmap before cameras start rolling.

Once production begins, so do we. Northern Lights provides on-set editorial support, ingests dailies as they become available, and pulls selects in real time — working closely with the production team to identify coverage needs and make sure every piece of the puzzle is there when it’s time to build the show.

With content coming in from many different production vendors, bringing it all together is no small task. Northern Lights shapes the pacing, transitions, and narrative arc across every element, turning a wide range of footage, talent, and programming into one cohesive, premium viewing experience.

Our role extends through sound design, music selection and final mix, giving each presentation the energy, polish and momentum it needs from opening frame to final beat. Once the master is complete, we also create multiple breakout versions tailored to individual sections of the show, extending the value of the presentation beyond the Upfront itself.

No Two Upfronts Are Exactly Alike

New talent, new programming, new platforms and new priorities gives us the opportunity to experiment with new visual and editorial styles while maintaining the premium finish audiences have come to expect. What began as a virtual presentation has grown into a long-standing creative partnership, with Northern Lights returning year after year to help A+E Global Media tell its story.