Seth Meyers Takes a Lighthearted Jab at CBS and Trump During NBCU Upfronts: “Next Year’s Survivor Might Be Set in the Strait of Hormuz”

Seth Meyers took the opportunity to deliver pointed jabs at industry competitors during NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation to advertisers held in New York City on Monday morning.

“We have taken down CBS,” said Meyers, celebrating NBC’s milestone of surpassing CBS in total viewership for the first time in nearly twenty years. “Well, the Ellisons did, but I like to think we helped.”

Meyers, scheduled to appear later Monday on CBS alongside fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and John Oliver to support Stephen Colbert in his final week on The Late Show, continued to add humor at CBS’s expense. He speculated about how the Ellisons’ connections to the Trump administration might impact programming choices on Paramount’s networks. “Seriously, what’s going on over there? They’re so in the pocket for Trump that I heard, next year, Survivor is in the Strait of Hormuz,” he remarked.

Meyers contrasted NBCUniversal’s vibrant two-hour presentation at Radio City Music Hall with Paramount’s more subdued approach, which included a series of smaller gatherings in locations like Los Angeles and New York City. “CBS did not hold an upfront presentation this year because ‘CBS up front’ just describes how they paid Trump to drop the lawsuit,” he quipped.

Throughout his ten-minute routine, Meyers kept the humor flowing, not only targeting Paramount but also taking subtle digs at other competitors and even NBCUniversal itself. He referenced Paramount’s successful bid for Warner Bros., joking, “Comcast actually made a bid too, but no one thought we were actually gonna get it. It was kind of like that one friend who always pretends to reach for his wallet after the check comes.”

On the upcoming merger that will unify Paramount+ and HBO Max, Meyers added, “So now you’ll get all your favorites in one place … speaking of streamers, Comcast said on its most recent earnings call that Peacock is approaching profitability in the same way Kevin Hart is approaching seven feet tall.”

“But it’s an exciting time for Peacock. Season 8 of Love Island USA is set to premiere in June, so please, please get the HPV vaccine. If you’re the ad rep for Valtrex, what are you waiting for? Love Island is back. That’s Love Island, the show President Trump calls, ‘I never went there,’” he continued. Meyers also mentioned NBCUniversal’s recruitment of Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan from Paramount in a deal reportedly worth $1 billion, humorously noting he might finally get a call from his father asking, ‘What channel is NBC on?’

NBCUniversal’s presentation marked the beginning of a busy week for upfronts in New York City, with Fox and Amazon hosting their presentations the same day, followed by Disney on Tuesday and Netflix on Wednesday.

In reference to Netflix, Meyers humorously suggested, “Netflix is hosting its upfronts this year on the Hudson River, because once a Netflix show hits two seasons, that’s where they dump its body.”