The year has gotten off to a clamorous start for corporate America (not to mention the rest of us), with epic stock market gyrations and President Trump’s chaotic tariff rollout ramping up the anxiety levels.

Taking the stage against that backdrop this week in New York, major media companies will respond by doing what they do best: tuning out the noise and putting on a show.

Monday marks the kickoff to upfronts week, the annual ritual of programmers pitching ad buyers, although it has become a more concentrated affair for the cost-conscious industry. Calling it a “week” overstates things a bit, as this concentrated edition will see eight events in just three days.

NBCUniversal, Fox, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and TelevisaUnivision (with Paramount still eschewing the spotlight) will face stiff competition in the form of Amazon, Netflix and YouTube. The three tech giants will all take part in the...