The upcoming Super Bowl LXI, set to be a landmark event in ESPN history, is already sold out in advertising, corporate parent company Disney said Wednesday.
In a call with analysts to detail the company’s fiscal third-quarter earnings, Disney CFO Hugh Johnston said the upcoming NFL title game at Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles is sold out. The timing for that end of available ad inventory beats NBC’s timing for selling out Super Bowl LX last season by about a month, and Fox’s for Super Bowl LIX to end the 2024 season by three months.
Disney did not detail specific financials around the sellout, but Johnston said its sports-related results from this spring’s advertising upfront grew by a percentage “in the low teens.” Not surprisingly, Disney made Super Bowl LX a focal point of its upfront presentation in May in New York, highlighting the fact that it will be the first Super Bowl aired on the network since its 1979 founding.
“Our upfront and a sold-out Super Bowl LXI make it clear: brands see Disney as a must-have investment, one built on our ability to deliver audiences at scale, across live events and streaming, all year long,” said Disney president of global advertising Rita Ferro.
Disney had reportedly been seeking $10 million for 30-second ad slots in Super Bowl LXI, moving well past the $8 million mark for much of the ad sales for Super Bowl LX. After some pushback from advertisers on pricing, however, many Super Bowl LXI units are thought to have instead sold in a range of $8 million to $9 million each.
