Disney is moving its biggest live-event inventory onto Disney+. The 2027 Super Bowl LXI — ESPN’s first as the game’s US broadcaster — will stream on Disney+ in English and Spanish, alongside the ABC broadcast and alternate presentations such as the Manningcast.
The company also said two Monday Night Football games will be available on Disney+ later this fall, and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest will sit on the service. Seacrest will be joined by Rita Ora in New York, Julianne Hough and Rob Gronkowski in Las Vegas, and Druski from Chicago.
Why Disney is doing this
Disney+ is widely accepted as the second most-scaled streaming service in the US after Netflix, even though Disney no longer reports subscriber figures. Putting the Super Bowl on the platform makes Disney+ a live sports destination and moves it closer to the role CEO Josh D’Amaro has described: the “digital centerpiece” of the company.
That centerpiece eventually includes games and experiences, but the immediate priority is clear: the biggest live events need to live on Disney+ too. Disney is using the full portfolio—theme parks, films, products and experiences—to promote ESPN’s first Super Bowl, including turning Santa Monica Beach into ESPN Beach for the takeover.
The advertising picture
Super Bowl advertising inventory is sold out, and Disney is only taking names for a reserve list in case additional units open up. For media buyers, the Disney+ stream adds an English- and Spanish-language live CTV feed to the existing ABC and pay-TV universe, so the streaming simulcast is premium reach rather than a side feed.
What the move means
- Live sports on Disney+: Two MNF games this fall, Rockin’ Eve, then Super Bowl LXI in 2027.
- Language split: The Super Bowl simulcast will run in English and Spanish on Disney+.
- Scarcity: Ad inventory is sold out; reserve-list sign-ups are the only current opening.
- No subscriber report: Disney no longer discloses subscriber figures, so scale must be tracked through third-party measures.
For streaming and TV professionals, the lesson is structural: Disney is treating Disney+ as a distribution layer for its highest-reach live properties, not as a separate experiment.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
