Following another celebrity-packed upfront, Disney has officially closed its talks.
The company announced that it increased sales in sports and streaming, with “overall volume consistent” with last year.
In last year’s upfront, the company said volume was up 5% from its 2023 commitments, which were previously reported as being “in line” with the $9 billion it took in commitments in 2022. That was the most recent year Disney reported specific numbers around its total upfront volume.
According to Disney, streaming volume was up and accounted for more than 40% of total upfront volume, a number that’s also consistent with last year.
Sports advertising volume across linear and addressable reached nearly $4 billion, per Disney. The highlights include 69 multi-year deals and double-digit growth in volume for Monday Night Football and College Football.
Meanwhile, Disney announced that women’s sports volume is up double digits, and percentage-wise, there is a high demand for events like the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, WNBA, and growing engagement around other sports like softball and volleyball. The NBA also saw high single-digit volume growth, which was fueled by the NBA Finals and Inside the NBA.
Disney also had growth in live events, which contributed to early bookings for tentpole events like The Oscars, the CMA Awards, and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest. The company reported that The Oscars nearly doubled the number of units sold as part of the upfront compared to last year.
In addition, Disney Advertising expanded its base of independent agencies, which saw double-digit volume growth across sports and streaming. Categories including financial services, CPG, pharmaceutical, and beverages continued to perform well, with strong growth in line with marketplace trends, according to the company.
“As the velocity of change in the advertising landscape continues to accelerate, this upfront demonstrates the enduring power of storytelling, premium environments, and that the value of trusted relationships matter to marketers,” Rita Ferro, president, global advertising, Disney, said in a statement. “Our strength in streaming and live events delivers results at scale, and we’re shaping what’s next for the entire industry.”
With the upfront close, Disney is the third major publisher to wrap talks, following NBCUniversal and Fox. Like the other publishers, Disney did not disclose details around total dollar volume or CPMs (cost per thousand viewers reached).