As Disney prepares for its first Super Bowl ad sale in more than 20 years, it will hold three different events as part of the pre-sales process to guide advertisers through its plans across ad tech, sports products and content.
The media giant will hold an event to showcase its technology and data capabilities on January 7th, followed by a sports-focused showcase on March 24th. The company is planning its annual late Tuesday afternoon event during the industry’s annual “Upfront Week,” scheduled for May 12 at New York’s Javits Center. All three incidents were disclosed in a memo sent to customers Wednesday by Rita Ferro, Disney’s president of advertising and sales.
“We have officially launched a roadmap designed to showcase the full range of Disney’s capabilities, from content and franchises to data and technology,” Ferro said in a statement.
The company’s next upfront will be to begin the sales process in conjunction with Super Bowl XI, to be held on February 14, 2027 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Disney-owned ABC hasn’t aired the classic Gridiron since 2006, but its latest deal with the NFL has given it back a slot in its regular rotation between Fox, NBC and CBS.
The Super Bowl could play a big role in Disney’s pre-sales progress. NBC was able to declare its impending 2026 broadcast sold out in September, but it cleared a significant portion of its inventory ahead of pre-presentations earlier this year. While streaming is eroding the prime-time linear viewership, sports is building a new bulwark.
Advertisers still covet the broad concurrent viewership that these extravaganzas generate, and marketers who didn’t previously spend heavily on sports are now finding new reasons to do so. On the other hand, scripted shows that viewers watch at times of their own choosing aren’t as powerful as major NFL or NBA games, which must be watched live.
NBCU asked for $7 million for 30 seconds of Super Bowl berth earlier this year, according to media buyers. The company revealed in May that Super Bowl LIX, which was held on FOX earlier this year, brought in about $800 million in revenue.
Disney is considering some interesting twists for its NFL extravaganza. ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in 2012 that the company could introduce a Super Bowl “megacast” across its media portfolio to create different broadcasts of the classic competition tailored to specific types of viewers. This technique is something Disney has experimented with frequently in recent years.
