Disney Closes Upfront With Commitments ‘In Line’ With Prior Year

Disney is the latest publisher closing the wonderful world of upfront talks.

Today, Disney announced it had crossed the upfront finish line, with commitments across entertainment, streaming, sports and inclusion. Demand was driven by live events; addressable across sports and entertainment, including Hulu and the Disney+ ad tier; and programmatic and measurement offerings.

Overall revenue and volume commitments made in the upfront were “in line with the prior year,” according to the company. In 2022, Disney announced its strongest upfront ever, reporting $9 billion in advertiser commitments.

Additionally, more than 40% of the total upfront dollars committed this year went toward streaming and digital, with Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu leading the way, which is in line with last year. The company also announced increased commitments to Disney+ from all agency partners, which was led by the expansion of targeting, measurement and programmatic capabilities.

There were single digit increases in sports volume and pricing, for which Disney credits the strength of its rights portfolio and increased demand for its womens’ sports offering.

“Our investments in the most dynamic technology and streaming capabilities, coupled with the most enviable sports rights, powerful storytelling and impactful cultural moments, sets Disney apart,” Rita Ferro, president of advertising at Disney, said in a statement. “As we close the 2023-2024 Upfront, our insights led approach and deep understanding of consumers continues to deliver growth for our clients, while deepening their connection to the most engaged audiences at scale.”

Regarding categories, auto, consumer packaged goods, financial services, media and entertainment, pharmaceutical, sports gaming and travel and leisure performed well. Plus, the company secured “substantial inclusion commitments” from financial services, pharmaceutical, retail, tech and telecommunications brands.

In addition to Disney, NBCUniversal, Fox, Paramount, TelevisaUnivision and Warner Bros. Discovery have all closed talks, with The CW in the midst of winding down negotiations as well.

The inclusion commitments are notable for Disney, as ad sales chief Rita Ferro challenged advertisers to “be intentional” about DEI during Disney’s May upfront week presentation.

“It’s really important,” Ferro told Adweek following the event. “We started that ask for a commitment as part of the upfront years ago because the intentionality behind what we’re doing in that space from a company perspective and all of our storytellers and creators have been really important in terms of how we think about the investments.”

This year’s upfront was one of the slowest markets in years, with advertisers thought to be seeking rollbacks in pricing amid uncertain macroeconomic conditions. However, Ferro told Adweek back in May that the market was always “active.”

“Disney tends to be at the front of the line. We own the scale and size of what we have, and sports and streaming are a priority for most marketers if you ask them across the board, and we have probably the largest footprint in both of those,” Ferro said.

Ferro added that though it wasn’t “the robust market of other years,” brands were still enthusiastic about having the right relationships and business terms in place with Disney.

Planning for fall

In addition to uncertain macroeconomic conditions, the ongoing writers strike is also weighing on brands’ minds heading into the fall.

However, the company has safeguards in place. Notably, ABC went with an unscripted-heavy fall lineup, which will help in case the strike is prolonged.

Additionally, in an earnings call in May ahead of upfront week, CEO Bob Iger touted Hulu and Disney+ content combining in a single app experience, saying the advertising platform of the combined experience would be “incredibly exciting,” as over 40% of Disney’s domestic advertising portfolio is addressable.