Disney’s upfront stalls as sports boom fails to lift sales

Disney’s 2025-2026 upfront ad sales have closed flat compared to last year, a stagnant result that suggests even a nearly $4 billion haul from live sports wasn’t enough to drive overall growth and puts the company behind growing rivals.

A sports bright spot: The company leaned heavily on its live sports dominance, with ad commitments nearing $4 billion. The results were bolstered by double-digit volume increases for Monday Night Football and college football, while the continued explosion in women’s sports also drove double-digit growth. A key win for its NBA package is the addition of the popular studio show Inside the NBA, which Disney poached from TNT.

The streaming ceiling: While streaming accounted for more than 40% of total upfront business, the figure held steady from the prior year. The lack of growth in its share of the pie suggests the segment is maturing and losing its power to drive total ad revenue higher for the media giant.

Falling behind the pack: Disney’s flat performance signals a slowdown from the 5% increase it secured in last year’s upfront. The result puts the company a step behind rivals like Fox and NBCUniversal, who both announced volume increases for the year.

Our takeaway: Even with premium sports and streaming assets, Disney couldn't grow its total ad sales, a worrying sign for the health of the traditional media advertising market as it struggles to outrun cord-cutting and shifting viewer habits. Disney’s results land in a competitive market where rivals are seeing momentum. Fox saw double-digit growth in its upfront, with its Tubi streaming service growing ad commitments by 35%. Meanwhile, NBCUniversal also closed a strong upfront on the back of its new NBA deal. The performance also comes as Disney navigates internal pressures, having conducted another round of layoffs in June that primarily impacted its TV operations.