How SNL’s 50th anniversary showed future of TV branding – and what it means for marketers

The show’s recent 50th-anniversary celebration wasn’t just a nostalgic milestone. It was a case study in how legacy media can use brand partnerships, technology and live experiences to remain commercially relevant. At SXSW, we caught up with Jamie Cutburth, EVP of marketing and brand partnerships at NBCUniversal, to unpack how SNL’s anniversary became a lens into the evolution of TV branding from both a consumer and CMO perspective.

Beyond the ad break – a new era of brand integration

For decades, television’s business model was simple: produce great content, attract viewers and monetize those eyeballs with ad sales. But as streaming, ad-skipping and social platforms have reshaped the way audiences engage with content, the old model is no longer enough.

NBCUniversal, says Cutburth, is rethinking TV not as a passive viewing experience but as an ecosystem where brand partnerships must feel native, valuable and entertaining. The SNL anniversary special embodied this shift.

“For the first time in SNL history, we partnered with the show’s writers to create branded content that blended our advertisers directly into the show’s DNA,” Cutburth says. “We did an incredible segment with The Californians and Volkswagen’s ID, merging classic SNL characters with brand messaging in a way that felt authentic and entertaining.”

It worked. According to NBCU’s post-event analysis, SNL 50 drove 38% higher emotional engagement for ad creatives versus non-sponsors and became the most-watched primetime entertainment event on NBC in five years.

Beyond the immediate impact, the anniversary set a precedent – in an era where traditional ad models struggle, cultural moments, not ad slots, are the real commercial currency.

The Bravocon playbook – how fandom fuels revenue

This content-first commercial approach isn’t new for NBCU. The company has been road-testing its model through Bravocon, the fan convention for Bravo’s reality TV juggernauts The Real Housewives, Below Deck and Vanderpump Rules.

“We started Bravocon in 2019 and the event sold out in minutes,” says Cutburth. “By 2023, we expanded to Las Vegas, brought in 30,000 fans, over 120 Bravo celebrities and ran three full days of programming. What we saw was a convergence of fandom, technology and brand integration in a way that traditional advertising just can’t achieve.”

State Farm didn’t just sponsor Bravocon – it became part of the storytelling.

“We rebuilt Cheryl’s She Shed from their viral ad at the first event, then evolved it into The Bravohood, where we merged State Farm with Below Deck, Southern Charm and Project Runway,” says Cutburth. “Last year, Jake from State Farm actually joined Bravocon as a ‘Bravo-lebrity.’ Fans embraced him like he was one of their own.”

The numbers back it up – 78% of Bravocon attendees called it one of the best weekends of their lives. That’s not just brand engagement; it’s brand devotion.

Lighthouse events – the next evolution in TV monetization

What SNL 50 and Bravocon illustrate is that live, tentpole media events – what NBCU calls “lighthouse events” – are now the foundation of modern TV monetization.

The SNL 50th special, Bravocon and even sports coverage like the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics and Super Bowl all prove that television’s future is not about passive viewing but about fostering real-time cultural moments that brands can tap into.

“You look at the Olympics, the NBA, the People’s Choice Awards – all of these events are built around engaged audiences, which is gold for advertisers,” says Cutburth. “When we create branded activations that extend beyond the broadcast – live experiences, digital content, social integration. It’s no longer just advertising; it’s participation.”

This strategy is also playing out in Peacock’s ad model, which has been structured to mirror the engagement-first approach of NBCU’s live events.

“We launched Peacock five years ago, building our advertising strategy alongside our content strategy,” Cutburth says. “Today, 92% of our audience enjoys the ad experience and 78% rate it as the best AVOD experience available.”

If brands and networks want to keep up, the days of passive commercial placements are over. Audiences don’t just consume content any more – they interact with it, share it and expect brands to contribute to the conversation in an authentic way.

Opportunities and risks for NBCU

For NBCUniversal, the opportunity is clear – owning the last remaining true cultural moments in a fragmented media landscape. With its portfolio of live events, major sports programming and long-running entertainment brands, NBCU has the raw material to dominate the future of branded entertainment.

But there are risks.

The streaming wars aren’t over. While Peacock is performing well, it’s still competing against Netflix, YouTube and Disney+ for audience attention. Keeping engagement high means continuing to innovate the ad experience.

Also, brand integration must be authentic. Consumers are savvy. If sponsorships feel forced, they’ll backfire. NBCU’s challenge is ensuring brands enhance the storytelling rather than disrupt it.

And then of course there is the news that NBC Universal is to spin-off its cable assets, once considered the backbone of it's business, into a new entity called - appropriately enough - SpinCo, underlining the rapdidly evolving nature of this landscape.

The future of TV – a two-way conversation

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from SNL’s anniversary, Bravocon and NBCU’s wider approach is that the nature of television itself has changed.

“It’s not just about broadcasting to people any more – it’s about sparking a conversation,” Cutburth says. “When we do it right, the audience doesn’t just watch our shows or ads, they talk about them, they engage with them, they become part of the experience.”

TV branding is no longer about one-way storytelling. It’s about community-building, fan engagement and turning audiences into active participants.

For CMOs, it means rethinking how their brands show up – not just in ad breaks but in culture itself. And for NBCU, it’s a playbook that’s proving to be its most valuable asset in a rapidly evolving media landscape.