Disney ad inventory sold out for the Oscars 2023

Disney Advertising has reportedly sold all its inventory for the Oscars which were televised on ABC this weekend with prices slightly lower than it was in 2022.

According to several media outlets such as Deadline and Yahoo Entertainment, it was reported that the company charged between US$1.6 million and US$2.1 million for 30 seconds of airtime, and that it sold out of ad inventory from a significantly vast range of brands and advertisers from 15 categories.  These included the likes of Hulu, alt Disney Motion Pictures, Universal, Sony, Warner Bros., Amazon, Snapchat and Paramount+ in addition to others. Some of the lead advertisers though included brands such as Pfizer, Rolex and Verizon, according to media reports.

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When it comes to advertising, the Oscars are a key event for Disney as it gains a lot of eyeballs on live television. It is particularly important because it gives studios the opportunity to promote their upcoming films. One of these include Disney’s new The Little Mermaid film that stars Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy which saw its trailer debuted during the Oscars. The live-action reimagining of the studio’s animated classic will premiere on May 26 this year, according to a statement buy the company.

Rita Ferro, president of Disney Advertising was quoted by several media sources that sponsors for the Oscar event “showed up in full force” across “every major category” with new custom ways of storytelling.  

The news is particularly significant as viewership for leading award shows and movies deal with falling numbers as a result of the pandemic. Clearly, this shows a recovery especially as it was also reported that most Oscars spots were sold in the upfront this time round rather than in the scatter market. However, it is also worth noting that in 2021, despite its ad inventory buy out, the Oscars met with its biggest decline in viewership count. The show saw a near 59% drop from the 23.6 million viewers the award show garnered in 2020.

The numbers released by Nielsen, reported on media sites, said that only 9.85 million viewers tuned in to the award show. In 2022 however, the show saw 16.6 million viewers on Sunday.

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The drop in viewership over the years was not exactly surprising given the trend seen. Reports from Nielsen revealed in 2020, 23.6 million watched the telecast, which was a massive drop from 2019's 29.6 million viewers.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Disney for a comment.

The news comes shortly after Disney+ saw a drop in revenue and subscriber growth in the past quarter which led to restructuring and 7,000 job cuts last month. This was part of the company’s efforts to achieve USD$5.5 billion in cost savings. Following the cuts, the company will restructure into three segments, namely an entertainment unit that encompasses film, television and streaming, a sports-focused ESPN unit and finally experiences and products. The restructuring aims to return power to creative executives. 

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