IAB is giving creators their own upfronts

At the annual NewFronts, brands and agencies have the opportunity to buy ads on digital-native content. In 2026, creators will get in on the fun. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), which has organized the NewFronts for more than a decade, has announced a new CreatorFronts event that will be added to the firm’s fall calendar starting next year.

The CreatorFronts is exactly what it sounds like: A New York City-set gathering that will connect brands “with creator-led solutions grounded in authenticity, culture, and influence,” as the IAB put it in a press release. Translation: Creators are going to pitch their upcoming programming to the attending advertisers, who will have the chance to go into business with the tastemakers who best suit their needs.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because Spotter gave creators their own upfront last year. Big names like MrBeast, Dude Perfect, and Kinigra Deon pitched themselves during a presentation series that was timed to coincide with the TV industry’s upfronts blitz.

The CreatorFronts figures to be IAB’s answer to that event. Though the participating creators haven’t yet been announced, we know that the 2026 event will take place on September 15, about six months after the height of upfronts season.

To be clear, the CreatorFronts won’t replace the NewFronts, which will return to the Big Apple from March 23-26, 2026. That’s earlier than usual, as the IAB is responding to the demands of advertisers who want earlier access to the year’s inventory.

To complement its first-quarter gathering, the IAB is assembling a three-day fall lineup that will include the CreatorFronts on the 15th, the company’s Podcast Upfront on the 16th, and its gaming-oriented PlayFronts on the 17th. The biannual model will allow the Bureau to account for the “always-on nature of digital investments,” according to IAB CEO David Cohen.

The launch of the CreatorFronts isn’t just about calendar coverage. At this year’s MIPCOM conference in France, the rise of creators within the traditional TV world was a main theme. Some of the world’s biggest media companies unveiled products and initiatives that will help creators make TV-grade content.

If creators are going to mature as content producers and distributors, they need a place to sell their work, and that’s where the CreatorFronts comes in. As upfront spending declines from pre-digital peaks, the IAB is offering an alternative for the brands that are looking to reallocate their budgets.

In one sense, the CreatorFronts will bring the IAB’s annual event full circle. The NewFronts schedule was once jam-packed with presenters who pitched attendees on creator-led programming. A decade later, the industry is trending back in that direction.