Disney's upfront ad sales net $9 billion

Disney announced a record close to its annual upfront negotiations, securing $9 billion in commitments across ABC, Disney Channels, ESPN and ESPN+, Freeform, FX, Hulu, National Geographic and the newly ad-supported Disney+. The company credits Disney+, which earlier this year announced it would add an ad-supported subscription tier by the close of 2022, as a driver for its historic performance. This was despite it not seeing a shift in the percentage committed to streaming over linear channels from last year—40% inclusive of Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu. Subscribe to Ad Age Sign up now for the latest industry news and analysis Click here On the specific reach of Disney+ compared to other digital platforms, a Disney spokesperson told Ad Age that “all of our addressable platforms have very complementary audiences and offer complementary scale as well…We've got so much momentum around our addressable platforms that Disney+ just added to that excitement and adds to the tremendous scale that we're able to provide to our clients.” Disney declined to provide the total revenue of last year’s upfront negotiations but reported increased revenue across properties. Other drivers for its strong performance this year include live events as well as its addressable ad offerings, for which Disney recently announced a partnership with the Trade Desk. The Mouse House reported a double-digit increase for the cost of advertising per 1,000 viewers it reaches, an industry metric called CPM, on linear channels and a high single-digit increase in CPM for digital platforms. Disney specified that its sports programming also saw particular success, hitting double-digit increases in volume, noting its increased offering of women’s sports. A buyer who participated in negotiations with Disney told Ad Age that this year’s negotiations were on par with last year’s. But the source noted the network’s emphasis on its sports programming as well as the debut of its highly-anticipated ad-supported streamer. “Disney + support clearly made a difference in helping the overall tone of the negotiations,” said the buyer. The network reported strong performance from the Diversified Consumer Services, financial services, entertainment, pharmaceutical, sports gaming and travel & leisure categories, noting a similar spread in category interest for Disney+. “Disney Advertising entered our 2022-2023 Upfront committed to executing on our strategic priorities—streaming, multicultural and inclusion, sports and entertainment—and we delivered,” said Rita Ferro, president of advertising sales at Disney Media and Entertainment, in a statement. “This marks a historic close to our strongest Upfront ever, totaling $9 billion.” At this year’s upfront presentation, Ferro reported that the previous year had seen a record investment in Disney’s multicultural inclusion programs—over $100 million. She reported that the company’s goal was to triple that commitment in 2022. A Disney spokesperson told Ad Age that as of writing, the company is “still working through that,” adding that “we did double the revenue from last year and we continue to grow it as we have ongoing conversations with our agencies and with our partners. This is a priority for the Disney organization and it will continue to be so.” Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

Disney's upfront ad sales net $9 billion

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