Disney Advertising says that advertising inventory for the NHL’s All-Star Weekend is sold out
The 38 advertisers that have bought commercial time include 27 that also appeared during All-Star weekend last year.
Disney said that it has also sold out its sponsorship slots to 12 brands. Five of those brands have been NHL sponsors since hockey returned to ESPN and ABC during the 2021-22 season.
The Skills Competition takes place Friday night on ESPN and the All-Star Game airs Sunday on ABC. Both events stream on ESPN Plus.
A year ago, NHL All-Star Weekend programming–the Skills Competition on ESPN and the All-Star Game on ABC –generated $4.6 million in ad revenue, according to EDO, a research and analytics company that works with Disney.
Disney said sell-through is up 10% compared to a year ago..
“NHL All-Star Weekend stands as an important cornerstone within the lineup of sports content we offer to fans everywhere,” said Deidra Maddock, VP of sports brand solutions at Disney. “The commitment we see from the diversity of advertisers we have speaks volumes to the value that brands see in how we better connect them to NHL fans.”
Sponsors of All-Star Weekend include Cheetos, Fastenal, Lexus, MassMutual, Navy Federal Credit Union, Pepsi, SAP, Upper Deck and Verizon.
Honda will serve as the title sponsor for the NHL All-Star Game while DraftKings Sportsbook is the presenting sponsor for NHL All-Star Skills.
On average about 7 in 10 fans aware of the sponsorship said they would agree it improves their opinion of the brand and makes them more likely to purchase in the future, Disney said, pointing to a survey by rEvolution.
Disney said it attracted advertisers in nine new product categories to this year’s All-Star weekend, including pharmaceuticals, banks, computer software, beverages, telecommunications systems and optical goods.
There were also bigger advertising commitments from companies in the quick service restaurant, auto insurance, financial institutions and telecom categories.
Last year’s All-Star Weekend reached 10.4 million viewers with 32 million total minutes watched, according to Nielsen.
On ESPN’s digital platforms, total reach for 2023 was nearly 2.2 million across both days, according Adobe internal data.
