Mark Marshall, the top dog of NBCUniversal’s ad operations, just proved that some industry leaders still live in a fantasy where late night TV is a juggernaut for brands. Despite every credible metric screaming that linear TV viewing is tanking, NBCU is doubling down, selling late night spots like they’re prime real estate in Manhattan. Marshall’s recent comments at the upfronts reveal a stubbornness that’s baffling in 2026: brands are “clamoring” for late night audiences, clinging to the hope that these time slots actually move the needle. Spoiler alert: they don’t.
Let’s be clear — the ad market has evolved past the point where slapping a commercial during a late night talk show guarantees anything close to meaningful engagement or conversion. Yet NBCU, along with a handful of other legacy TV stalwarts, continues to push this narrative. It’s a classic cargo cult move, propping up dated ad formats under the guise of “brand safety” and “mass reach” while ignoring that the mass is fragmented across streaming, social, and emerging platforms. Meanwhile, brands still buy into this because they don’t want to upset the old guard or because their agencies haven’t caught up.
Marshall also trotted out the usual promises of “innovative adtech” to juice NBCU’s upfronts, but the reality is that these solutions are often just repackaged bullshit. The “Fast and Furious” spinoffs he mentioned? Sure, those draws still have eyeballs, but that’s a niche exception, not a rule. The industry-wide truth is that late night viewership is a slow-motion car crash. Advertisers would be better served by reallocating budgets to targeted digital efforts that actually track outcomes rather than pouring money into nostalgia-fueled broadcasts.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth for agencies and networks alike: it’s time to stop pretending late night TV is a growth channel. The brands still betting big on it are throwing good money after bad, propping up a dying relic. The only way forward is brutal honesty and a wholesale pivot to platforms where audiences live, interact, and buy. Until that happens, expect more smug press releases like NBCU’s latest, touting “clamoring” brands while the actual data quietly bleeds away.