College Football Playoff expansion boosts advertising, viewership at Disney

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Donovan Edwards #7 of the Michigan Wolverines hurdles a tackle attempt by Michael Taaffe #16 of the Texas Longhorns during the first half of a college football game at Michigan Stadium on September 07, 2024 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Aaron J. Thornton | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

The expanded College Football Playoff format has changed the game for media companies this season — and for Disney in particular.

This season marks the first of the 12-team College Football Playoff format, meaning fans of more teams than ever have more skin in the game. As a result, Disney’s TV networks that air college football — including ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 — are on pace for their most-watched season since 2016, according to the company.

This has translated to more viewership engagement with the commercials aired during the games, according to EDO, an advertising data company. That’s expected to continue through this Thanksgiving weekend, a busy stretch on the college football calendar that’s chock full of rivalries and will shape playoff seeding and the upcoming Bowl games.

During the 14th and final weekend of the season, longstanding rivals such as Ohio State and Michigan, and Texas and Texas A&M will take the field.

“We have higher hopes, I think, and higher expectations for this coming weekend because of that change in format,” Kevin Krim, CEO of EDO, said of ad engagement on Disney’s networks. “The significance of these games matters, in our experience, in the data.”

In 2022, the university presidents who oversee the College Football Playoff voted to expand the postseason system that determines the national champion from four to 12 teams. The change has not only offered Disney more games on its schedule, but also increased the intrigue around the games earlier in the season.

“College football is a key cog in our portfolio, not only the sports portfolio but also our Disney platform portfolio. From an ad sales standpoint and content standpoint, we’ve had unbelievable success,” said Jim Minnich, senior vice president of Disney advertising revenue and yield management, noting “record breaking viewership across the company’s platforms.”

ABC in particular is on track to have its best season for college football ratings since 2009. The company said 12 of the 15 most-watched games were on … Read More