When Adele’s album comes out, a TV show could be behind

If you believe the internet, Adele’s long-awaited new album could drop any day. (We’ve heard there could be music as early as next week.) But whenever it arrives, there’s a good chance this album will be followed shortly by something almost as exciting: Vulture. hears that Adele’s camp has approached multiple networks and platforms about the idea of ​​staging a TV special related to the new release. No agreement is in place and discussions are still at the exploratory stage. But if that does happen, sources say the televised event would likely kick off before the end of the year – just in time for the holiday shopping season.

While our music and TV industry spies are certain that Adele is strongly considering a TV event to promote her new music, what is less certain is what form a special will take and where it will land. Adele promoted her 2015 album 25 with relatively intimate pre-recorded TV concerts on the BBC and NBC in November and December 2015, respectively. She could go for a similar format this time around, or maybe shoot for something more ambitious, like an outdoor show.

As to where a stage could be seen, if history is any guide, it’s likely Adele’s team are looking for a platform that can draw massive audiences in a short period of time. On the streaming side of things, Netflix would certainly offer that – not just in the United States but globally. The short turnaround time for this project, however, may not make it the ideal candidate, as Netflix’s music specials tend to be almost cinematic specials in the works (think Beyoncé Back home). It’s unclear if the streamer is currently in talks for the potential special; the platform does not generally comment on the projects before the signing of the agreements.

Amazon Prime Video could also be a contender: it has a long history of collaborating with musicians on big projects, such as Rihanna’s fashion avant-garde. Savage X Fenty Show, the Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show and Prime Day concert specials. Amazon also obviously has the ability to sell things, like CDs and digital downloads. He could put an Adele special on his free ad-supported IMDb TV streamer, ensuring an even larger audience. HBO also has a long history of music promotions and is now looking to sign up subscribers around the world for HBO Max. And, of course, Apple, with its access to hundreds of millions of consumer accounts, could host an Adele event, most likely with a combination of Apple TV + and Apple Music coverage.

As for traditional television, Vulture hears that Adele’s representatives have again approached U.S. networks about a special, saying she hasn’t gone for a streaming strategy this time around. Additionally, all US broadcasters now have streaming partners, so in theory Adele could make a deal to have her special broadcast on multiple platforms owned by the same company, although likely with the broadcast network leading the way.

NBC must obviously be considered a candidate, given her past association with Adele as well as the presence of Lorne Michaels, who produced her 2015 special and holds the keys to SNL, which is an obvious promotional platform for the album. But Michaels can still have Adele host or play on SNL in December even though she’s not doing a special for NBC. As for other US networks, ABC’s ownership of Disney would allow it to share any special with Disney + or Hulu, the former being a more likely candidate given its wider international distribution. Disney + could also pursue an Adele special on its own.

But CBS has a strong case to make: The Eye regularly broadcasts some of the highest average weekly audiences of any U.S. broadcaster, and Adele’s Target Demo of People Who Still Buy Music straddles CBS’s core demographic. adults aged 25 to 54 (yes, that includes you, millennials). CBS also has ties to MTV and streamer Paramount + owned by ViacomCBS, both of whom may be enlisted to bring more attention to Adele. The network has demonstrated – and most importantly, recent – record with the aggregation of large numbers for specials (Oprah’s royal conversation with Meghan and Harry, with over 17 million viewers, is one of the biggest shows of this year). And it probably doesn’t hurt that CBS is closely linked with James Corden and producer Ben Winston: the duo crafted the iconic instantly. Carpool Karaoke with Adele and also participated in Emmy nominations Friends special reunion for HBO Max earlier this year. This does not mean that they would be involved in the event, but there would be obvious possibilities for cross promotion.

As noted above, Vulture only heard from representatives of Adele bringing up the idea of ​​a big TV event in Q4 to promote the new album. As far as we know, there is no deal made, and it is possible that his team may decide to take another route and go against a televised concert. But special or not, count on this: Adele, like her famous Briton Roy Kent, will soon be here, there and everywhere. Representatives for Adele and Sony Music did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment.