Inside Oscars ad deals—how awards show demand is following Super Bowl market trends

Editor’s note: On Feb. 28, after publication, Disney announced that ad space for the 2025 Academy Awards broadcast had sold out. Ad demand for this year’s Oscars is on the rise, building on last year’s momentum, even as viewership for other major awards shows—including the Golden Globes and the Grammy Awards—has stagnated or declined, according to five media buyers familiar with the negotiations. The Hollywood awards show is benefiting from the same boost that has driven ad sales for the Super Bowl earlier and to higher prices, according to the buyers, as the rush to secure inventory in live events grows for the small set of tentpole events. The Academy Awards air March 2 at 7 p.m. ET on ABC and will stream live on Hulu for the first time. (Disney owns ABC and Hulu.) NextGen Marketing Summit Join us for a crash course on Gen Z, DTC marketing and the creator economy Register today Typically, advertisers might be rushing to get Oscars ad space up to the end of the week before it airs, said two of the media buyers, but both said they saw a majority of clients eager to set deals in place in the 2024 upfront or the months that followed soon after. One added that Disney also played its role in generating early demand by bringing limited or category-exclusive packages to the market soon after the upfronts, which inspired early action from larger advertisers. Disney is nearing sellout for the Oscars broadcast, according to John Campbell, senior VP, streaming, entertainment and multicultural solution at the company. However, three buyers said the show had sold out of or had only one to two units remaining two weeks out from Sunday. The time that an advertiser buys into the Oscars also plays a role in the price they pay. The five buyers each placed the cost for 30 seconds of ad time in this year’s broadcast between $1.3 million and $2.3 million. While TV ad deals factor in a variety of variables, such as a brand’s historical relationship or broader deals with a network, each buyer said the lower end of that range—between $1.3 million and $1.5 million—was the price for early buyers and the higher range north of $2 million is for those that purchased in recent weeks. Disney declined to comment on pricing. The range is similar to pricing for 2024’s Academy Awards, which saw ad prices between $1.5 million and $2.2 million, Ad Age reported at the time. The first buyer said that unlike some live events, namely the Super Bowl, where marketers make the most of 30 seconds, clients often buy more than one ad unit, digital and social media inventory and larger sponsorships in the Oscars, which can increase the price exponentially. Still, the pricing for TV air time is much lower than the Super Bowl, which this year commanded up to $8 million for a 30-second slot. This year, Disney saw “more demand than we’ve seen in a number of years” for the Oscars, said Campbell. And the Mouse House has been active in driving demand through what Campbell called “content everywhere” packages that have contributed to a 50% year-over-year increase in custom sponsorships for the awards show. While that includes in-show integrations and multiunit custom content in commercial breaks, it also includes inventory across TikTok, the red carpet, the Monday recap on ABC’s “Live with Kelly and Mark” and social highlights that will roll out after the broadcast. Disney is also anticipating a viewership boost from the livestream on Hulu. This year, streaming was a major audience driver for the Super Bowl, with Tubi drawing 13.6 million of the game’s record 127.7 million viewers, according to Fox and Nielsen. While the ads in the Oscars ceremony will be the same on ABC and Hulu, Disney brought Oscars sponsorships to Hulu (and Disney+ for bundle subscribers) with “know your movies” and “critically acclaimed” film collections, according to Campbell. These cross-platform packages were created in response to marketer feedback to “maximize the moment,” said Campbell, adding that demand continues to grow to partner on full surround campaigns rather than one-off spots. Star power Strategizing around awards show audiences can be particularly important as there isn’t a regular season or tournament to roll out marketing over as there is in live sports. But like live sports, the impact of any year’s awards broadcast may vary depending on the stars and nominees appearing. The first buyer said they anticipate a lot of attention on this year’s Oscars given the consistent virality of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s press tour for “Wicked,” as well as the slate of musical performers already announced, including the “Wicked” leads as well as Doja Cat, Raye, Queen Latifah and Blackpink’s Lisa. The awards show “strategy is absolutely shifting where just being in the show isn’t enough,” said the buyer. “It is still a sizable out-of-pocket to purchase inventory in the show, and it’s a one-off event. Clients are looking for there to be more legs and longevity to the impact of media investment.” The buyer said their clients are looking at new ways to stand out during the broadcast, such as one creating custom ads for the show that are more dramatic and cinematic, pushing the brand’s broader messaging in a way unique to the Oscars. This year’s Oscars demand comes despite a slowdown in ratings growth for the show’s primary awards show predecessors, the Golden Globes and Grammy Awards. Last year, both broadcasts saw ratings jump, which factored into heightened ad demand for the 2024 Academy Awards broadcast. Although viewership numbers still exceed the typical audience for broadcast TV, the growth trend didn’t continue this year for the Golden Globes in early January and the Grammys in early February. This year’s Golden Globes averaged 9.3 million viewers, down from 9.5 million in 2024, according to Nielsen. The 2024 audience was a substantial bump from 6.3 million in 2023. This year’s Grammy Awards drew 15.4 million, a drop from 2024’s 16.9 million, per Nielsen. Similar to the Globes, this is a course reversal from the 2024 bump it got compared to 2023’s 12.5 million viewers. Last year’s Academy Awards drew 19.5 million viewers, up from 18.8 million in 2023, according to Nielsen. But as content consumption continues to evolve, the role of social and digital extensions have become increasingly important for broadcasters. Despite the Grammys’ viewership decline, CBS touted the show as the “most social TV program ever,” drawing 102.2 million digital interactions. “There was a moment in time when it felt like awards shows were pretty much dead,” said the first media buyer describing the surprise of last year’s awards show marketplace revival. The key to maintaining demand for the broadcasts, according to the buyer, is not just whether they can maintain similar viewership levels but if they can innovate in the way advertisers appear in the shows and capture the virality of stand-out moments that often occur during them. “Even though this year we’re not seeing a continual uplift, the fact that [viewership] is not falling off the way a lot of other entertainment programming seems to be speaks to the fact that there is a lot of lean-in and interest in event programming,” added the buyer. However, a second buyer was more skeptical, saying they’d been “tooting the awards show horn” after last year’s numbers, and had to ease up on expectations with clients since. The buyer expects the market is witnessing a “balancing out” of audience that will remain steady rather than dip back to the doldrums seen prior to 2024. Generally, the raised demand for the Oscars has aligned with the broader push for live events from TV media sellers. As viewership in linear TV declines and streaming consumption is mostly on-demand, there are fewer opportunities for advertisers to reach large, broad audiences. Therefore, clearly defined marketing strategies and budgets for live TV are becoming more common to maximize the impact of the higher-priced inventory. For example, rather than just buying the in-show inventory or social packages for the one-off broadcasts, a third buyer said they’re working with clients to develop multiyear strategies for partnering with sports leagues or awards broadcasters to embed brands with their audiences year-round. The buyer also said it’s becoming more important to dive into the audience data and pitch the market on what content is resonating with awards show viewers across the year rather than immediately surrounding the show, particularly to make the high cost of developing campaigns around tentpole inventory stretch out over time. “This year, I was surprised at the demand we had within our own client pool—a lot of clients interested, and interested way earlier than in previous years,” said the third buyer, who added that although ratings haven’t continued to rise so far this year, the Oscars will likely remain a “safe bet” for advertisers for the foreseeable future. In recent days, Disney has been promoting the stars performing and presenting at the Oscars, as well as the show’s host, Conan O’Brien. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ABC (@abc) View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Academy (@theacademy) Super Bowl ad review The best and worst commercials from the Big Game Click here

Inside Oscars ad deals—how awards show demand is following Super Bowl market trends

Featured Stories