NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - Television "upfront"

advertiser presentations this week in New York City were hardly

about TV at all.

The annual week-long affair where media executives have

traditionally pre-sold TV advertising featured many familiar

trappings: pop stars Alicia Keys and Billie Eilish dazzled

packed auditoriums with live performances; celebrities Kevin

Hart, Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Reynolds hawked their latest

projects, and Super Bowl star Tom Brady joined other pro

athletes on stage.

But it was ad tech and artificial intelligence that was

getting all the attention.

Warner Bros Discovery ( WBD ) talked up shoppable ads on its

Max streaming service. Google's YouTube introduced a

new AI-powered format to place non-skippable ads on videos

streamed to internet-connected TVs. Netflix ( NFLX ) advertising

chief Amy Reinhard said the streamer would develop its own

in-house ad technology that would give advertisers new ways to

buy and gain new insights.

Ad tech even featured in punchlines.

"You're probably wondering why I am so giddy today," joked

late-night host Jimmy Kimmel at Walt Disney's ( DIS )

presentation. "It's because Disney ( DIS ) is using proprietary

meta-tagging data that leverages video intelligence to tap into

the moods and emotions within the content we create. That's why

I'm so proud of what we've done here."

Streaming players also sought to win over advertisers from

traditional media rivals by emphasizing their increasing reach.

Netflix's ( NFLX ) Reinhard said the company's ad-supported plan now

has 40 million global monthly users, up from 5 million a year

ago. In countries where Netflix ( NFLX ) offers a version of its service

with advertising, it accounts for 40% of all sign-ups, she

said.

Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria touted the chart-topping

popularity of shows like its period drama "Bridgerton" and the

streaming service's expanded investment in big, live events,

including a splashy deal to stream two NFL professional football

games on Christmas Day.

At Amazon.com ( AMZN ), the online superstore and cloud

computing giant's biggest news was its appearance at the event.

To make a memorable first impression with ad buyers at its first

upfront since introducing ads on Prime Video earlier this year,

the company treated some 2,500 guests to a bounty of breakfast

foods that reminded some of the big-shrimp buffets of

television's heyday.

Displays arrayed around Pier 36 in Manhattan showcased the

breadth of Prime Video's streaming content, including one that

rained dollar bills from the ceiling to promote a forthcoming

reality competition from YouTube personality Mr. Beast that

offers a $5 million prize.

Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and

Amazon MGM Studios, called Amazon ( AMZN ) a "one-stop destination" for

entertainment and said it delivers ads to more than 200 million

global customers, 115 million of whom live in the U.S.

Disney ( DIS ) CEO Bob Iger returned to the upfront stage for the

first time since 1994, back when "television used to be

something you watched on television."

While much has changed over the last three decades, he said,

"what hasn't changed is the fact that success in this industry

is predicated on one thing: telling great stories."

A day later Iger, speaking at MoffettNathanson's 2024 Media,

Internet and Communications Conference in New York, told

investors he had cut investment in programming for traditional

television dramatically as part of Disney's ( DIS ) strategy to maximize

audiences and profit in streaming.