The Walt Disney Company announced on Wednesday that it has sold all commercial advertising time for ESPN’s broadcast of the 2027 Super Bowl, scheduled for February 14 on ABC. The announcement was made by Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston during the company’s earnings call. The NFL’s championship game, set to take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, will also be available on ESPN as well as an alternative ESPN feed hosted by former NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning. Additionally, the game will be streamed on the ESPN app and NFL+ app.

This marks ABC’s return to broadcasting the Super Bowl for the first time since 2006, when the network last aired the event while operating its own sports division. ESPN has held rights to NFL games since 1987 but has never produced a Super Bowl telecast until now.

The Super Bowl remains the most-watched television event annually, generating significant advertising revenue for the media company holding broadcast rights. For reference, Fox reported earning more than $800 million across its platforms during its 2025 Super Bowl coverage, when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 to claim their second title.

While Disney did not disclose the exact prices for advertising slots, industry reports indicate the company sought approximately $10 million for a 30-second commercial. Last year, NBC reportedly sold multiple spots at similar rates. According to Johnston, Disney secured spots from 58 different brands spanning 34 product categories, ranging from financial services to candy, personal care, and software, with nine of those brands participating in the Super Bowl for the first time.

Despite broader declines in traditional television viewership, the Super Bowl has continued to draw massive audiences. The 2025 game set a record with 127.7 million viewers across Fox and its streaming service Tubi, as measured by Nielsen, while last year’s game attracted around 125 million viewers on NBC, Telemundo, and Peacock. For comparison, the 2006 Super Bowl broadcast on ABC drew approximately 90.7 million viewers, though Nielsen’s data did not account for out-of-home viewing at that time.

Live sports remain highly attractive to advertisers, offering one of the few opportunities to reach large audiences in real time amid evolving media consumption habits.