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.
The company also announced that it had concluded its 2026-2027 upfront negotiations, with its live event portfolio serving as the centerpiece.
“Total volume commitments were up double digits versus last year, sports volumes were up low teens,” Johnston told Wall Street analysts.
“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 Rita Ferro, president of global advertising for Disney. “That momentum carries through our live event calendar too – from The Oscars and The Grammys to New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, the College Football Playoff, and the CMA Awards, advertisers keep showing up for the can’t-miss moments only Disney can deliver.”
Johnston also noted, however, that outside of live events, the ad market is a tough one.
“Overall, the current tone I would have is to characterize the market as healthy in sports, which obviously plays to our strength heading into the fall, but at the same time, competitive in streaming, especially given the growth of supply in the marketplace,” he said. “That supply, of course, is creating some pricing pressure for us and for others.”
