Donovan Edwards #7 of the Michigan Wolverines overcomes 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 7, 2024 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Aaron J. Thornton | Getty Images Sports | Getty Images
The expanded College Football Playoff format has changed the game for media companies this season – and for Disney in particular.
This season is the College Football Playoff's first 12-team format, meaning fans from more teams than ever will have more of a stake in the game. According to the company, Disney's TV networks that air college football – including ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 – are on track to have their most-watched season since 2016.
According to EDO, an advertising data company, this has resulted in viewers becoming more engaged with the commercials aired during the games. That's expected to continue through Thanksgiving weekend, a busy stretch of the college football calendar that's filled with rivalries and will influence playoff seeding and upcoming bowl games.
On the 14th and final weekend of the season, longtime rivals like Ohio State and Michigan as well as Texas and Texas A&M will take the field.
“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 advertising 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 four to twelve teams. The change not only gave Disney more games on its schedule, but also increased the intrigue surrounding the games early in the season.
“College football is an important cog in our portfolio, not just the sports portfolio but also our Disney Platform portfolio. “We have 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.
Amari Daniels #5 of the Texas A&M Aggies runs the ball while Marvin Burks Jr. #1 of the Missouri Tigers is defended in the first quarter at Kyle Field on October 5, 2024 in College Station, Texas.
Tim Warner | Getty Images
In particular, advertising performance during the Thanksgiving weekend series of games on the 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 is being driven by both the College Football Playoff and sports in general.
As for advertising, 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 ratings for television networks. The National Football League often leads in viewership and advertising, followed by college football. Even though the advertising market has weakened in recent years, advertisers continue 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 home of all Southeastern Conference football games, advertising demand has also had a positive impact. The media company will reportedly pay around $300 million annually for the next 10 years for SEC rights.
ESPN and the College Football Playoff announced in March that they had agreed to 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 a big role for Disney's competitors, among other things Paramounts CBS Sports, Fox Corp.And Comcast's NBC Sports.
Krim said college football is more effective than the average programming of all the networks that broadcast the games.
Disclosure: Comcast's NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.
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