The expanded College Football Playoff format has modified the sport for media corporations this season – and for Disney particularly.
This season Markings the College Football Playoff's first 12-team format, meaning fans from more teams than ever before can have more of a stake in the sport. According to the corporate, Disney's TV networks that air college football – including ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 – are on course to have their most-watched season since 2016.
According to EDO, an promoting data company, this has resulted in viewers becoming more engaged with the commercials aired throughout the games. That's expected to proceed through Thanksgiving weekend, a busy stretch of the school football calendar that's stuffed with rivalries and can influence playoff seeding and upcoming bowl games.
On the 14th and final weekend of the season, longtime rivals like Ohio State and Michigan in addition to Texas and Texas A&M will take the sector.
“I think we have higher hopes and higher expectations for the coming weekend because of this format change,” EDO CEO Kevin Krim said of the promoting commitment on the Disney networks. “In our experience, the importance of these games depends on the data.”
In 2022, university presidents who oversee the College Football Playoff voted to expand the postseason system that determines national champions from 4 to 12 teams. The change not only gave Disney more games on its schedule, but in addition increased the intrigue surrounding the games early within the season.
“College football is an important cog in our portfolio, not just the sports portfolio but also our Disney Platform portfolio. “We've had incredible success in terms of ad sales and content,” said Jim Minnich, senior vice president of Disney advertising sales and revenue management, noting “record-breaking viewership across all of the company's platforms.”
ABC, in particular, is on track to have its best college football season since 2009. The company said 12 of the 15 most-watched games this season were broadcast on the broadcast network.
According to EDO, consumers were 11% more likely to interact with advertising during this season's college football games on Disney networks through Week 10 than the competitive primetime average on broadcast and cable television. This means people were more likely to search for products and deals they saw during ad breaks, making those slots more valuable to advertisers.
In particular, advertising performance during the Thanksgiving weekend series of games on Disney networks is expected to increase again this year after an already strong 2023, EDO estimates. The company reported that advertising during Disney's games last year was 93% more effective than programs running in the same time slot on other networks – also a 39% increase from the previous year.
Brands that see particularly strong consumer engagement during college football games on Disney channels include consumer brands such as Jimmy Dean and Just for Men; Restaurants like Popeyes; and pharmaceutical products such as AbbVie's Skyrizi, EDO said.
These are notable metrics as the media industry faces significant turmoil. Consumers are fleeing the pay-TV package, and the changes media companies have made in recent years – particularly a shift of resources to streaming platforms – are more in focus than ever. Companies are also relying on advertising more than ever.
Disney has already seen “significant demand for extensions” from its College Football Playoff partners, with some wanting early extensions for 2027 and beyond, Minnich said.
“There is renewed interest than ever before,” Minnich said, adding that it’s being driven by each the College Football Playoff and sports typically.
As for promoting, Disney's seats are sold out through the conference championship games. Additionally, about 90 to 95% of the ads were sold for the College Football Playoff games.
“We actually outsold the championship game than we have in previous years,” Minnich said. “We are faster than last year, and that includes the growth forecast for CFP.”
Live sports remain the last bastion of solid rankings for television networks. The National Football League often leads in viewership and promoting, followed by college football. Even though the promoting market has weakened lately, advertisers proceed to spend money on sports.
“Football is generally the most expensive thing on television because it attracts a larger audience, more engaged with both the show and the commercial breaks, than anything else on television. The NFL is the absolute top of the value mountain, but right behind it is college football,” Krim said.
In response, sports media rights have skyrocketed across the board.
With Disney being the house of all Southeastern Conference football games, promoting demand has also had a positive impact. The media company is allegedly pays about $300 million annually for SEC rights over the following 10 years.
ESPN and the College Football Playoff made the announcement in March agreed a six-year, $7.8 billion contract through the 2031/32 season. Shortly thereafter, Warner Bros. Discovery signed a five-year sublicense agreement with ESPN to broadcast the first-round and quarterfinal games of the College Football Playoff.
College football also plays an enormous role for Disney's competitors, amongst other things Paramounts CBS Sports, Fox Corp.And Comcast's NBC Sports.
Krim said college football is simpler than the typical programming of all of the networks that broadcast the games.
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