Disney's controversial Super Bowl decision sparks fury
Disney's controversial Super Bowl decision sparks fury
Sahil KurupSat, October 24, 2026 at 4:06 AM UTC
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Disney has made a controversial decision related to the Super Bowl -Credit:Getty (Getty)
Disney finally has the Super Bowl back on ABC for the first time since 2006, and the local stations that carry the network say they are paying for a game that Disney is giving away on nearly everything else it owns.
Station groups such as Sinclair, Nexstar and Tegna, which own most of ABC’s local affiliates, are frustrated that Super Bowl LXI will be available on ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes and Disney+, along with a string of alternate broadcasts on ESPN2 (the ManningCast), ESPNU (a Pat McAfee Field Pass), NFL Network (an analytics-focused telecast) and Disney Channel and Disney XD (a Star Wars-themed version).
The traditional call with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will also air on ESPN, so a large share of viewers will never tune in to their local ABC station. It comes as Buck and Aikman could split at the end of the season due to tension in the booth.
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CNBC’s Alex Sherman first reported the complaints, and the issue is now being discussed by the affiliate board, an elected group of broadcasting executives who act as liaisons between stations and Disney.
A typical affiliate earns about 3 percent of its annual advertising revenue from the Super Bowl when the game airs on its station, and the largest owned-and-operated stations can take in around $10 million from the game alone.
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One station group CEO estimated that local advertising revenue tied to the game could fall 35 percent from last year, according to Sherman, who added that the executive asked not to be named for fear of retribution.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 05: An aerial view of the SoFi Stadium on June 5, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. The stadium will be the only venue to host the FIFA World Cup, the Super Bowl and the Olympics in three consecutive years as a stretch of major sports events takes place in the Los Angeles area, including FIFA World Cup 26, Super Bowl LXI in 2027, and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. (Photo by David McNew - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Stations also pay Disney reverse retransmission fees for the right to carry network programming, and for decades access to an exclusive Super Bowl was part of what justified those fees.
“Any time you fragment distribution, you’re destroying value for each of the individual platforms,” one station group CEO told CNBC. “I don’t have a problem with what Disney is doing. I have a problem that there’s no acknowledgement that we’re losing money.”
Disney+ makes the situation worse for stations. Peacock, Tubi and Paramount+ have streamed past Super Bowls, but those services allow geofenced dynamic ad insertion, which lets local affiliates sell commercials to streaming viewers. Disney+ does not have it, so stations get nothing from that audience.
Super Bowl LIII winning quarterback Tom Brady of the New England Patriots celebrates with Mickey Mouse in the Super Bowl victory parade in the Magic Kingdom on Monday, February 4, 2019 at Walt Disney World, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) -Credit:Getty Images
The national ads will be the same on every platform, and the Star Wars version will have no ads at all.
Disney defended the plan. “Making marquee live events available via streaming is a well-established industry practice,” a spokesperson said. “Fox and NBC have recently offered the Super Bowl on Tubi and Peacock, and we’ve similarly streamed The Oscars on Hulu and Dancing with the Stars on Disney+, for example.”
“There’s nothing unprecedented about this approach as we are meeting the modern consumer where they are,” they said.
The spokesperson added, “Our ABC affiliates are important partners and we always take that into careful consideration when making these decisions. We’ve successfully navigated similar situations in collaboration with the governing board many times before, and this is no different.”
Source: “AOL Money”
