Super Bowl LXI is more than half a year away, but The Walt Disney Co. has already sold out its advertising inventory for the Big Game, an early sellout for the most important event in sports and advertising.
Disney CFO Hugh Johnston disclosed the milestone on the company’s quarterly earnings call Wednesday. NBC sold out of its Super Bowl last September, while Fox sold out of its game in November.
Disney had been seeking as much as $10 million for a 30 second ad, a source on the buy side told The Hollywood Reporter.
Disney says that 58 brands across 34 different categories have bought time during the game, with nine brands advertising for the first time. The company is also planning integrations with those advertisers across its programming and in real life, such as at ESPN beach, the company’s planned takeover of the Santa Monica Pier around the game.
The Super Bowl now serves as the launchpad for brand campaigns and new products. In addition to the multi-million dollar buy-in fee, most brands spend millions more on talent and production, underscoring the scale of their investment.
