Disney's Christmas Ad Sellout Proves Live Sports Still Reign

In a major win for linear television, Disney sold out its ad inventory for the NBA's five Christmas Day games, successfully staring down a competing NFL tripleheader. The achievement proves that even as streaming becomes the default, major live sporting events on broadcast remain a powerful draw for advertisers.

• Demand drives dollars: The success was driven by broad market confidence, with 84 brands—including 37 new clients—buying ad time. This demand fueled an 18% year-over-year increase in ad revenue and pushed the cost for advertisers up 12%.
• The ad-pocalypse is nigh: But Disney's win is just one chapter in a larger story. Data from a recent Roku presentation, covered by The Measure, suggests the ad-free era is ending for everyone, with the company predicting the "ad-free streamer will go extinct" within the next year. The platform reports that 60% of its households that streamed exclusively ad-free in 2020 have since adopted free, ad-supported services.

Premium live sports can still command top dollar from advertisers on traditional TV, but for nearly everyone else, the future of streaming is filled with commercials.