Disney is asking marketers for $10 million to $12 million per 30-second spot in Super Bowl LXI, even though every commercial in the February 14, 2027 telecast on ABC and ESPN is already spoken for. The price applies to Super Bowl ads that would only open up if a current sponsor pulls out, and two media buyers told Variety Disney also wants a “match,” a second tranche of spending placed elsewhere in its ad inventory.
The company is effectively building a waiting list. If an advertiser is “seeking relief,” what the ad business calls asking to be let out of a Super Bowl commitment, Disney hopes to resell the returned time at a higher rate. Those requests are common when a brand decides its creative isn’t strong enough or its business hits a rough patch, and State Farm asked Fox to release it from Super Bowl LIX commercials after the California wildfires. They don’t usually start in earnest until late in the fourth quarter, which is why most networks prefer not to declare a sellout until just days before kickoff.
Buyers Split On How Much Demand Exists
Not everyone sees a line forming. “I’ve heard there isn’t really anyone asking,” one buyer said. “If I said to them today, ‘I’ll give you $12 million,’ they don’t have a spot for me. Clearly, they’re not getting that demand.”
A second executive said Disney is putting together “a list of advertisers trying to get in should someone back out,” while a person familiar with recent talks described interest as robust.
How Disney Got To A Sellout
The new ask revisits a fight from earlier this year. Disney opened sales at $10 million for 30 seconds, well above the $7 million NBC sought in early talks for Super Bowl LX. After landing some deals at $9 million or more with clients that don’t work through major media buying shops, Disney used those prices to press big incumbent spenders such as Anheuser-Busch InBev and PepsiCo, warning they could lose the premium positions they usually hold. The advertisers pushed back, and Disney eventually started selling much of its time for $8 million or more. One buyer said there is “kind of a sour feeling” among some advertisers about the process.
The sellout itself came early. Disney said on August 5 that it had sold out of its Super Bowl LXI inventory, drawing 58 brands across 34 categories, nine of them first-time Super Bowl advertisers. Chief financial officer Hugh Johnston announced it during the company’s earnings call that day, alongside an upfront that closed with volume commitments up by double digits.
What Disney Is Pitching
The game is Disney’s first Super Bowl since ABC carried Super Bowl XL in 2006. It will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and Disney is airing more than one version of it: the traditional broadcast on ABC and ESPN plus the Peyton and Eli Manning alternate telecast on ESPN2. The calendar is part of the pitch as well. February 14 is Valentine’s Day, and the following Monday is Presidents’ Day, putting the game on a three-day weekend.
There is one other lever. Fox has previously won NFL permission to open additional commercial breaks in the game, and Disney could try the same. The catch, media buyers say, is that the league typically takes half of any revenue from those extra breaks.
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