Digital Platforms Get VIP Treatment; Nets Court Advertisers With Array of High-Tech Offerings.

Byline: Jon Lafayette

The geeks took center stage at the upfronts last week.

Beyond the nerdy characters populating NBC's show "Chuck,'' CBS's "The Big Bang Theory'' and The CW's "Reaper,'' the geeks who work at the networks took on bigger roles, emphasizing the growing importance of digital forms of advertising to ad buyers.

Quincy Smith, president of CBS's interactive division, took the stage at Carnegie Hall before the network showed off a single new program to ad buyers, illustrating the new prominence digital has achieved in the TV world. <