All in all, an estimated 750 international buyers gathered at this year’s L.A. Screenings — a far cry from the over 1,500 recorded at Screenings held prior to the pandemic, with the reduction attributed to the TV outlets sending fewer acquisition executives, as well as concerns about entering the U.S. under the current U.S. administration. (Indeed, a French scientist was denied U.S. entry in Houston, Texas, after messages critical of President Trump were found on his phone. A May 20, 2025 front cover story in USA Today confirmed that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have the authority to search the content of electronic devices.)
Also, many of the studios’ screenings were shorter this year, with several majors, including Fox, Amazon MGM, and Lionsgate, taking up just one day each. Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery took two days each, while Disney took three days and NBCUniversal took four days. Sony Pictures TV had originally planned on taking two days, but later opted for just one day. When asked about it, a Sony Pictures spokesperson said: “We are not in fact having day-long screenings as we did last year, but instead doing an Upfront-style presentation on Sunday night.”
Commented an English-language content buyer: “The networks themselves are commissioning far less new shows these days, and many are spin-offs and go straight to series without a pilot. It’s a very different world to years gone by when we could screen over 30 brand-new network drama and comedy pilots.” Indeed, with most new pick-ups going straight to series, all the studios had a few pilots ready for screening.
Nonetheless, the Screenings lasted a full five days for most of the buying contingents, as it has for the last few years, with the exception of the LatAm buyers who were in town earlier to attend the L.A. Screenings Independents portion on May 15 and 16.
Ultimately, the L.A. Screenings is still a popular event for the international buyers who attend, not only to preview the new U.S. TV season, but also to observe trends, like the fact that the 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. hours are now, according to various research firms, becoming very popular with linear TV viewers. For example, the 7 p.m. newscasts on network affiliates have grown their audiences by eight percent over the last five years, while the 8 p.m. hour is now generally considered the most popular time for live viewing.
American television has always been overrun by procedurals featuring police officers, lawyers, and doctors, but this year is definitely the year of the doctors, with renewals that feature hospitals in all their glory, starting with HBO Max’s The Pitt, a medical drama set over a 15-hour emergency room shift using the real-time style of onetime FOX hit 24. Other medical dramas that aired this past season include Watson (CBS), Doc (FOX), Doctor Odyssey (ABC), Brilliant Minds and St. Denis Medical (both on NBC), and Pulse (Netflix). And these were in addition to longtime ABC hit Grey’s Anatomy.
The independent portion of the L.A. Screenings 2025 concluded on Friday, May 16, following a two-day run at the newly “adopted” 12-story Roosevelt Hotel, which, for the first time in the L.A. Screenings’ 62-year history, replaced the Century Plaza Hotel.
The studios’ portion began promptly on Saturday. The indies closed this year’s event on Friday with an evening panel with LatAm buyers, and, on Saturday, with an evening party and screenings from Argentina’s Telefilms — whose executives flew straight from the Cannes Film Fest to Hollywood to welcome their guests at the Roosevelt’s Blossom Ballroom.
According to organizers, the L.A. Screenings Independent had 275 buyers registered, 58 content companies exhibiting at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, and a total of 500 participants.
Traditionally, only an estimated 50 percent of content buyers attending the L.A. Screenings Independent tend to register with market organizers, therefore, one could assume that over 400 acquisition executives, mostly from Latin America, ultimately roamed among the 43 companies scattered on nine floors of the hotel, as well as the Academy ballroom. Also unprecedented was the presence of 58 journalists.
Among the indies there were several Korean companies grouped under the KOCCA banner. And studios such as Disney, NBCUniversal, Lionsgate, Fox, and Amazon MGM also exhibited at the Roosevelt.
As early as 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 15, distributors exhibiting in suites and at meeting tables in the Academy ballroom had back-to-back meetings with buyers — mostly from Latin America. The main challenge was keeping the time of the scheduled meetings since one of the two hotel elevators was out of service, causing delays. The problem was later alleviated by opening up the emergency exit doors to the hotel stairs.
Rich Oken, the Roosevelt’s general manager, was pleased with the L.A. Screenings crowd and promised that the elevator problem would be solved next year, that more restaurants on premises will be open, and that he’ll even try to get the lights in the open spaces to be brighter after attendees complained that the hotel was poorly lit.
Public parking was conveniently located across from the Roosevelt’s entrance (at considerable savings for non-hotel guests).
All in all, most exhibitors were pleasantly surprised to see their meeting schedules fill up in the last few weeks prior to the event, especially since LatAm buyers have reportedly reduced their content purchases since the beginning of the year, a decline that has been particularly felt by Turkish distributors.
In terms of new content for the 2025-2026 U.S. TV broadcast season, the studios could preview only a few new series, since most of the pick-ups were straight-to series orders. There were also many renewals.
Under the theme “The Power of Windowing,” Sunday’s Paramount Global screenings filled its theater, where it screened a full episode of NCIS: Tony & Ziva. Just before breaking for lunch, Paramount’s Dan Cohen sat on the stage with (the already picked-up) Boston Blue star Donnie Wahlberg (who’s also the new CBS series’ executive producer). NBCUniversal also had a big crowd at its Monday screenings, where it previewed the pilot of the new comedy series The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, and at lunch, VideoAge met with Michael Bonner, who attended the L.A. Screenings for the first time as NBCUniversal’s president of Global TV Distribution.
Wednesday, the last day of the studios’ screenings, was reserved by Disney, which took on the theme “L.A. Strong,” and whose Latin buying contingent took over the Frank G. Wells Theater on the Disney studio lot (while other territories’ acquisition contingents took the Main Theater), and among the new shows screened was Amanda, a Hulu limited series about American Amanda Knox’s conviction for murder in Italy.
Among the studios’ parties attended by VideoAge, both Disney on Saturday and Fox on Sunday managed to attract large crowds. Disney featured the new theatrical movie Lilo & Stitch before its party on the Disney studio lot.
Monday, May 19 was also “Deal Day,” when Canadian buyers bid for the new U.S. shows, which they started screening on May 6 in order to prepare for their own Upfront presentations to their advertisers. This year, only Bell Media and Corus were in Los Angeles, while Rogers was summoned at the broadcast standards hearings overseen by the Canadian regulator CRTC. Bell and Corus went the following week.
As for the U.S. TV Upfronts, the uncertainty caused by President Trump’s tariffs is expected to further reduce the advertising revenue of U.S. broadcast TV stations. This is the prediction for the TV broadcast Upfront market that started in New York City a week before the L.A. Screenings in Hollywood.
Television could be negatively affected due to the fact that its largest advertisers are among the sectors hit hardest by the tariffs. The Wall Street Journal reported that advanced TV spending could fall 20.5 percent this year to $13.9 billion, compared to last year.
However, if the Upfront market slows down, but the U.S. economy rebounds later on, the scatter market (the TV inventory not committed during the Upfront market) could pick up. Another bright outlook is going to be sports programming, which is expected to make up for the lost adverting predicted from other programming. Overall, total TV advertising spending for 2025 is expected to reach $61 billion across traditional and digital television (down from the $64 billion invested as early as 2019), with the exclusion of political advertising.
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