The Walt Disney Company concluded its Upfront advertising sales with notable increases in sports and streaming commitments and an overall figure consistent with 2024’s number. Sports was a bright spot, generating close to $4 billion through both linear and addressable platforms including ESPN and others, propelled by double-digit growth in volume for “Monday Night Football” and College Football and a “high single-digit” increase in NBA volume driven largely by the NBA Finals and the half-time and post-game analysis series “Inside the NBA” that ESPN landed starting this year.

Overall, Disney secured 69 multi-year sports advertising deals, validating its investment in sports and reaffirming that clients value of strategic ongoing relationships, the company assessed.

“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,” Disney Global Advertising President Rita Ferro said in an announcement regarding its 2025 TV Upfronts close.

Streaming accounted for 40 percent of the total Upfront volume, prompting Ferro to observe that “our strength in streaming and live events delivers results at scale.”

That being said, the fact that the parent of ABC, Hulu and Disney+ characterized overall volume as “consistent with last year” suggests that “TV companies are continuing to struggle to win greater advertising support even as Madison Avenue gravitates to the types of sports programming that Disney supplies through ESPN and its various platforms,” writes Variety.

Disney’s strength in live events also prompted “early bookings” for tentpole events such as “The Oscars,” “CMA Awards” and “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.” “The company indicated that it almost doubled the number of ad units sold in the Upfront tied to its annual ‘Oscars’ telecast, for which Disney usually seeks between $1.7 million and $2.2 million for a 30-second commercial,” Variety reports.

Disney is the third major publisher to conclude Upfront negotiations, following NBCUniversal and Fox. “Like the other publishers, Disney did not disclose details around total dollar volume or CPMs (cost per thousand viewers reached),” writes Adweek.

NBCUniversal claimed an overall uptick, specified as “a 15 percent increase in commitments across its broadcast offerings, including news, sports and entertainment and its largest digital Upfront and strongest sports Upfront in history, though it offered no hard numbers,” per The Wrap.

Fox Corporation’s 2025 Upfront sales delivered double-digit revenue growth for the second consecutive year, according to the company, which said core sports properties passed the $2 billion mark for the first time.