Disney Reveals that Advertising For the Upcoming College Football Playoff Is Almost Sold Out
With the 10th-ever College Football Playoff set to kick off on New Year’s Day, advertising slots are nearly sold out according to The Walt Disney Company.
“We have a lot of consistency with brands,” Deidra Maddock, VP, Sports Brand Solutions, Disney Advertising, told Deadline in an interview. “Not even in just the August-to-January window. But on a year-to-year basis. When brands are making this commitment and knowing that this is a space they want to be in, it’s not a ‘Hey, let’s dip our toe in the water and try it out.’ This is something that they’re investing in.”
A Strange Year For Disney
The college football season began on an auspicious note for Disney when Charter Communications blacked out all Disney-owned stations just as Florida and Utah kicked off one of the first big games of the season.
The larger carrier dispute with Charter was eventually solved, and Disney knows that the future of live sports is in streaming. The company is preparing to launch a stand-alone streaming version of ESPN by 2025.
Still, the decline of linear television may have been somewhat overstated. ESPN still managed to bring $3.6 billion in advertising revenue during the 2023 fiscal year. that number came in flat compared to a year prior.
The numbers for the college football season have been especially strong. Disney recorded its second most-watched regular season since 2016, with games averaging nearly 1.7 million viewers per game.
ESPN Will Look To Expand TV Rights
Disney is currently in the 10th year of a 12-year, multi-billion-dollar deal to air the College Football Playoff. While Disney owns the rights to the quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship game through 2026, the rights to the newly introduced first round of the playoff are still up for grabs.
“The college football fan base, regardless of where you are in the country, tends to be very passionate and committed,” Maddock said. “That’s the mystique and the fun of live sports, that ‘any given day’ mentality and who shows up. The degree of competition and the parity of competition across a large swath of schools now is remarkable.”
While 2023 was rough for Disney, the company is set to end the year with a bang.
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