IAB releases full schedule for 2025 NewFronts

The NewFronts is ready for its 2025 return. The annual pitch series put on by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) will return to New York from May 5-8, with more than 30 companies slated to present across four days of action.

For nearly two decades, the NewFronts has served as the digital media industry’s answer to TV’s upfronts, offering presenters the chance to show off the ad-buying opportunities that are available across their respective platforms. “The 2025 IAB NewFronts is where you can really get a sense of where the video world is heading,” said IAB CEO David Cohen in a statement. “The presentations here reflect and shape what’s coming next. From what people will be watching to how brands show up in those spaces, this is where the next year in digital video starts.”

As per usual, IAB NewFronts Principal Partner Google will kick off the proceedings with an event on Monday morning. The tech giant will return to send off the NewFronts on its fourth and final day, when YouTube will host an event beginning at 4:30 PM ET.

In between, there will be a diverse array of presentations that will include pitches from social media platforms, streaming services, FAST channels, and ad networks. The greatest concentration of spiels will occur during the IAB Mainstage event, which will run for most of the day on May 7.

The NewFronts has gone through numerous changes since the gathering’s initial conception by the agency Digitas. An event series that once ran for two weeks has been reduced to four days, notable presentations like YouTube’s Brandcast have left the schedule, spinoffs like the IAB PlayFronts have debuted, and COVID necessitated a switch to digital meetings that has mostly caught on. The majority of 2025 NewFronts sessions will be available to stream online; one notable exception is the TikTok pitch on May 6, which is sure to draw plenty of interest from potential attendees.

At the end of the day, despite all the changes to its format, NewFronts is what it always has been. As Cohen stated, the pitches offer a look at the future of advertising, giving brands and agencies the chance to buy in on the next big thing. To stay abreast of any changes to the schedule, and to see the full docket for the Mainstage event, head over to the IAB website.