Disney sells out of NFL Draft ad inventory for first day

Disney has sold out of advertising for the first day of the NFL Draft, the company announced today. Few units are left for days two and three of the draft, which will air on ESPN and ABC from April 27-29. The draft will feature nearly 100 advertisers across 50 categories, four more advertisers and 15 more categories than last year. This year’s NFL Draft was first pitched to advertisers in last year’s upfront, which accounted for 80% to 90% of sales, said Jim Minnich, senior VP of revenue and yield management at Disney Advertising. Disney confirmed ad revenue for the NFL Draft increased by 2% compared to last year’s broadcast. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs The first day of last year’s NFL Draft pulled just over 10 million viewers, per Nielsen, down nearly 2.5 million from the year prior. Although live sports remain a prime audience draw for linear TV, Minnich noted the NFL Draft stands out from the rest of the year’s football slate because it sets the stage for the following season leading to the Super Bowl. While this year’s Super Bowl experienced fluctuation in demand due to economic conditions and category-specific woes such as last year’s crypto crash, Minnich said NFL Draft sales have been consistent over the past months, with the first day selling out last week. Disney “didn’t see any sort of material change from the upfront” for the NFL Draft, Minnich said. He noted that, generally, the company’s continuous slate of NFL and sports content throughout the year allows advertisers to be fluid with their commitments, moving inventory between programming rather than pulling out dollars altogether. Minnich said that no categories were substantially down compared to last year’s NFL Draft. Standout categories included employment recruitment, cleaning products, home insurance and streaming. It's the first time Disney will feature competing streaming platforms in the draft, Minnich said. Read more: How marketer’s approached last year’s NFL Draft The NFL Draft will have 14 official sponsors, each advertising against specific features of the event. Sponsors include NerdWallet for “NFL Live” and ZipRecruiter for “NFL Draft Countdown.” Courtyard by Marriott will be the NFL Draft sponsor on ESPN, while ABC will feature “ESPN College Gameday Built by the Home Depot.” Goodyear will provide aerial footage on draft day. Sponsors of the broadcasts’ unique moments, such as the “Prospect Cam” or “Trade Alerts,” are EGO Outdoor Power Tools, FrontDoor, Subway, Toyota, Indeed, Pizza Hut and Haagen-Dazs. Brands sponsoring supplementary social media content on Twitter, Snap and Instagram include Courtyard by Marriott, Snickers and Universal Pictures’ upcoming film “Fast X.” Upfronts and NewFronts blog Tracking the latest TV and digital ad pitches Read more here

Disney sells out of NFL Draft ad inventory for first day

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