Disney+ Hosts Upfront Event In Australia
Earlier this year, Disney+ launched its ad-supported tier in Australia and New Zealand, and today Disney held an Upfront 2026 event in Melbourne, Australia, showcasing its films, shows and ESPN sports programming on Disney+ to hundreds of advertisers to encourage them to buy advertising slots on the streaming service’s ad-supported tier.
The showcase celebrated how Disney+ is the digital centrepiece of Disney’s fan relationship, bringing Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, Hulu and ESPN together in one place.
According to the company, the Disney+ difference for media buyers is the combination of content and capability: Disney brings together the stories, sport and fandom that command attention, while Disney Advertising provides the targeting, measurement, creative and partnership tools to activate around them.
Kylie Watson-Wheeler, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand, and Head of ESPN Asia-Pacific, said in a statement regarding the showcase:
“Few companies bring storytelling, technology and fandom together the way Disney can. That makes Disney+ an unmatched launchpad for advertisers seeking cultural impact in premium, trusted environments.”
Since the launch of the ad-supported Disney+ tier in April 2026, Disney Advertising has gained momentum with advertisers seeking premium, brand-safe and culturally relevant environments. The ad tier has created a large new advertising opportunity, in addition to advertising available on ESPN sports.
During the presentation, Disney Advertising US executives Josh Mattison and Dana McGraw outlined the evolution of Disney’s global advertising technology capabilities and local roadmap. Disney+ with Ads now operates in more than two dozen countries, serves more than 10,000 advertisers globally and runs on a single, unified global ad tech stack.
“Our focus is to give advertisers richer insights, stronger tools and more meaningful ways to show up in premium streaming moments”.
Disney+ content highlighted during the Upfront that’s coming soon includes Count My Lies, The Spot, Paradise Season 3, Only Murders in London, Marvel Television’s VisionQuest, Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka Season 2, FX’s Alien: Earth Season 2, The Land, and Australian Hulu Original The Artful Dodger Season 3.
As part of the Upfront presentation, Disney introduced the next wave of Disney Advertising innovation coming to Disney+ in Australia and New Zealand, with richer data insights, stronger creative tools and more engaging ways for advertisers to connect with audiences. Disney Audience Graph brings together signals across Disney’s platforms to build a deeper understanding of audiences, while Disney Select turns those insights into curated segments that help brands move beyond broad demographics.
Disney Advertising is also making ad experiences more creative and interactive. Ad Selector lets viewers choose the creative they see before content begins, while Video+ ads allow offers to be sent directly to a viewer’s phone without interrupting the viewing experience. Looking further ahead, Disney Ad Creative Studio will help advertisers produce tailored creative assets faster and at scale.
Together, these capabilities bring Disney’s global advertising technology and experience to audiences in Australia and New Zealand, giving the Disney Advertising team a proven foundation it can adapt and scale for advertisers in the market.
The Disney+ slate offers buyers a steady pipeline of leverageable moments across franchises, returning favourites, local originals and sport-led storytelling. For advertisers, the value is premium context: brands can appear alongside stories, characters and fandoms audiences know and trust.
Generation Stream: The Main Event Effect research showed audiences gather around must-watch streaming moments, live events, premieres and finales. For advertisers, they can show up when audiences are deep in their fandom – paying attention, talking and sharing.
Disney is also continuing to build out its sports programming offerings via the ESPN brand, with the addition of US sport including the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB, alongside local fan-favourites NBL, WNBL, WNBA and FIBA World Cup coverage.
Major moments include the most comprehensive NFL offering in market, including a minimum of six live games per week, plus The Walt Disney Company and ESPN’s global 2027 Super Bowl broadcast and the historic NFL Melbourne Game. ESPN also enjoys long-term market-leading NBA rights, broadcasting over eight NBA games each week, along with the NBA All-Star Weekend, NBA Playoffs and NBA Finals. ESPN live sport offers advertisers high-attention opportunities for a valuable ANZ audience.
Director of Disney Advertising Australia & New Zealand, Nik Weber, said Disney+ with Ads brings premium content, targeting, measurement, interactive formats and high-attention moments into one streaming buy.
“The Disney+ ad tier may be new, but the technology, products and experience behind it are not,” Weber said. “That is what allows us to move at speed and give advertisers more ways to reach audiences across premium entertainment, live sport and culturally significant moments.”
Roger’s Take: Advertising has always been an important element of Disney’s television empire for decades with its linear business, but we’ve really seen Disney ramp up its efforts with its streaming endeavours, as while Disney+ initially launched as an ad-free experience, in reality, that was probably never fully sustainable without severe price increases. While I prefer an ad-free experience, for most of my streaming subscriptions, I have gone for the cheaper ad-supported options, so I’d expect that number to continue to grow, and it makes sense that Disney is now running events to go after businesses in different countries to get more local advertising for the local audience.
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