Disney's Super Bowl Plans are Reportedly Frustrating Traditional Broadcasters
There are a lot of ways to watch next year's Super Bowl. Possibly too many
Super Bowl LXI is a big deal for Disney. It's the first time ABC has aired the game in two decades, and the company has been promoting next February's game since this year's game ended. There are a lot of big plans for the game itself, but it turns out that some of those plans are frustrating the traditional broadcasters who see Disney cutting the game's audience into smaller and smaller segments.
What's Happening:
- Traditionally, the Super Bowl has only been aired on a single network, which gave the local stations a captive audience and all the associated advertising revenue.
- Disney announced early on that next year's game would be carried by both ABC and ESPN, but in recent months, Disney has announced additional cable and streaming options for watching the game, including Disney+.
- According to CNBC, this has frustrated local ABC station owners, as the variety of options will likely split the audience, leading to a traditional broadcast viewership drop of an estimated 35%, according to one station owner.
- While most advertising on the Super Bowl is sold at a national level, some is sold more locally, allowing local stations to generate revenue. However, a drop in viewership means not being able to sell those spots for as much.
- At this point, there are a multitude of ways that somebody can watch Super Bowl LXI.
- The "standard" version, anchored by Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, will air on ABC, ESPN, the ESPN App, and Disney+.
- A Spanish-language version will be available on ESPN Deportes, and Disney+.
- The "ManningCast" hosted by Peyton and Eli Manning will air on ESPN2.
- Super Bowl LXI Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show will run on ESPNU.
- Super Bowl LXI Playbook with Next Gen Stats will be on the NFL Network.
- Star Wars Funday Football will run on Disney Channel, Disney XD, the ESPN App, and Disney+.
- While airing the game on network TV and via streaming has been standard in the last few years, next year's game will certainly see more options than ever before. It will be interesting to see just how well this strategy works for Disney.
More ABC News:
- Disney recently renewed its affiliate deal with a significant affiliate network.
- High Potential has been set to air following the big game.
- ABC has ordered a remake of a popular BBC comedy.