Observed Signal · Apr 21, 2026 · Experiential Event · Source: Adweek · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Paramount Kicks Off 2026 Upfront Dinners Under New Sales Chief
Paramount has begun its 2026 series of client upfront dinners, marking the first such events following Skydance’s $8 billion merger with Paramount last year. The intimate dinners — held since Paramount left traditional upfront week in 2023 — are also the first under the company’s new ad sales leader, Jay Askinasi, who previously served as CEO of Publicis Media’s PMX US and has attended Paramount’s dinners in the past. The 2026 dinners kicked off last week in Chicago and Los Angeles.
Notes leadership change in Paramount’s ad sales and the first client events since Skydance’s $8B merger — relevant to advertisers and agency relationships but not industry‑shifting.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Paramount’s 2026 client upfront dinners are underway.
- These are the first dinners after Skydance’s $8 billion merger with Paramount closed last year.
- Paramount has been holding intimate client dinners since dropping out of upfront week in 2023.
- Jay Askinasi is the new ad sales leader at Paramount; he previously served as CEO of Publicis Media’s PMX US.
- The 2026 dinners kicked off in Chicago and Los Angeles.
Connected Companies & Entities
1 Entity mappedRelated Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Paramount’s Upfront Focus: Streaming, Programmatic, Live Sports
Paramount used intimate client dinners rather than a traditional upfront presentation while rolling out several product announcements aimed at streaming, programmatic buying and live-sports advertising. The company plans to fully merge the ad‑tech stacks behind Paramount+ and Pluto TV over the summer to centralize viewing and identity data. Paramount is launching a new ad performance product called Precision+ that matches Paramount audience data with advertisers’ first‑party data and will add a conversion API. It is promoting “streaming fixed units,” which let advertisers reserve specific pod positions in episodes (including live sports), and expanding dynamic ad insertion (DAI) capabilities—already used in UFC events—to other marquee sports within the CBS Sports digital portfolio this fall. Paramount frames these moves as part of post‑merger integration following the Paramount Global–Skydance Media deal.
Paramount Boosts Ad Team with Amazon Sports Execs
Paramount has hired Danielle Carney, formerly Amazon Ads’ head of live sports and video sales, as its new head of U.S. ad sales and added Chris Brady, ex-president of Tribeca Enterprises, as EVP of Paramount Media Labs. The hires are effective March 9 and both report to Paramount ads leader Jay Askinasi, who is now the company’s CRO. Carney spent more than four years at Amazon and played a role in Prime Video’s sports strategy, including Thursday Night Football and the company’s NBA and WNBA offerings. The moves come as Paramount prepares for the upfront and while it pursues an acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal that ad experts say could change scale and negotiating dynamics for TV advertising.
Paramount Skydance Unifies Tech Stack Amid Layoffs and Growth
Paramount Skydance, the post-merger entity formed by Paramount and Skydance, is shifting from integration to execution by unifying its disparate back-end tech stacks across Paramount+, Pluto TV, and BET+. The company released its first post-merger quarterly results, noting Q3 revenue just under $6.7 billion, flat versus a year earlier, with the majority of that generated after the merger closed on August 7. Direct-to-consumer revenue rose 17% to $2.17 billion in 2025, led by Paramount+ growth, which now accounts for about 80% of the DTC business. Paramount+ reached 79.1 million subscribers; subscription revenue was roughly $1.69 billion for the quarter, while advertising contributed about $479 million. Pluto TV underperformed due to lower sell-out rates. The group also announced a plan to lay off about 1,000 employees by year-end and to accelerate tech integration, including Oracle Fusion, and new partnerships with Publicis Groupe and IPG Mediabrands, complemented by the addition of Jay Askinasi to the advertising leadership team.
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