{"id":794800,"date":"2026-10-07T12:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T12:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/794800\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T12:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T12:22:10","slug":"disney-advertising-focuses-on-fandom-growth-and-ad-innovation-at-uk-upfront","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/794800\/","title":{"rendered":"Disney Advertising focuses on fandom, growth and ad innovation at UK Upfront"},"content":{"rendered":"

IMAGES – HERE
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LONDON, UK \u2013 6 October 2026:\u00a0Today, Disney Advertising welcomed hundreds of key clients from agencies and brands to its UK Upfront event in London to celebrate the growth and power of premium streaming platform Disney+ and the breadth of its unmissable\u00a0 entertainment offering, spotlighting content and upcoming titles from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, Hulu, FX and ESPN.<\/p>\n

The event comes at a milestone moment for Disney Advertising with more than 4,000 brands advertising on Disney+ across EMEA since launch in 2023, and revenue for the advertising business in the UK alone up 80% year on year. Sponsorship demand also continues to grow, with over 50 sponsorships activated on Disney+ in the UK, with more on the way.<\/p>\n

This follows the expansion of Disney Ad Server into EMEA<\/a> in the summer, creating a more connected, data-informed\u00a0advertising\u00a0ecosystem, designed to make it easier for brands to plan, activate, and measure at scale.<\/p>\n

Recent BARB Q2 results show that the reach of the Disney ad tier in the UK has increased by 58%* year on year, with monthly viewer hours are up 49%* in the same time period.\u00a0The Disney+ difference for\u00a0media\u00a0buyers is the combination of content and capability: Disney\u00a0brings together\u00a0the stories, series\u00a0and fandom that command attention, while Disney Advertising provides the targeting, measurement, and partnership tools to activate around them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Deborah Armstrong, SVP, Disney Advertising EMEA and UK and Ireland Country Manager, The Walt Disney Company, said:\u00a0\u201cThe growth we\u2019re seeing for Disney Advertising reflects the power and strength of our storytelling and fandom.<\/p>\n

\u201cAudiences are actively choosing to spend time with our series, characters and the franchises they love. And our audience are highly relevant for advertisers; 43% of viewing hours on Disney+ in the UK are watched by 16-34 year olds.** Brands can connect with highly engaged and emotionally connected viewers.<\/p>\n

\u201cCombined with our continued investment in advertising technology, measurement and partnerships, we\u2019re making it easier than ever for advertisers to harness the power of Disney fandom at scale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Expanding proven innovation solutions in EMEA<\/p>\n

Over the next year, Disney will continue to unify planning, buying and measurement for advertisers in the UK, expanding its proven advertising technology capabilities while creating a more seamless experience for clients.<\/p>\n

At the foundation is Disney Audience Graph, powering audience understanding, activation and measurement across our ecosystem. Built on that foundation, Disney Compass brings planning, measurement and data collaboration together in one connected experience, alongside our clean room solution.<\/p>\n

Those insights power Disney Select audience segments, helping brands reach high-value audiences at scale. And with innovations like Magic Words and Pause Ads on the way, we’re creating new ways for advertisers to connect with audiences through the stories, fandoms and moments they love.<\/p>\n

Creative partnerships underpinned by premium content<\/p>\n

Brands value premium context and appearing alongside stories and fandoms audiences already trust.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Disney Advertising launched the first UK brand integrations around \u2018Rivals\u2019 season 2; Waitrose’s tie-in (including a \u2018Rivals\u2019-inspired nostalgic food range) doubled brand likeability and drove 75% ad recall, showing how integrated partnerships built around cultural buzz translates into real results.<\/p>\n

UK sponsorship options have also now expanded; brands can now align with genres, franchises, new and returning series, blockbuster movies, and seasonal moments like Huluween and Christmas.<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t-Miss content that drives fandom<\/p>\n

The content showcase also shared special previews of upcoming titles including Hulu Originals \u2018Count My Lies\u2019 and the second season of Ryan Murphy\u2019s \u2018All\u2019s Fair\u2019, and UK Hulu Originals \u2018Castle Man\u2019 (w\/t) and \u2018Oasis: Don\u2019t Look Back in Anger\u2019, alongside a sneak peek of upcoming titles on the way from Marvel Studios.<\/p>\n

Members of the celebrated team behind award-winning UK Hulu Original \u2018Rivals\u2019 also took to the stage to give advertisers a glimpse into forthcoming episodes. Executive Producer and Writer Dominic Treadwell-Collins and Executive Producer Felicity Blunt were joined on the panel by cast members Aidan Turner (Declan O\u2019Hara) and Victoria Smurfit (Maud O\u2019Hara).<\/p>\n

Season 2 of \u2018Rivals’, made by Happy Prince, part of ITV Studios,\u00a0returns with new episodes on Disney+ on 11 November.<\/p>\n

Closing the event, Stanley Tucci also took part in a Q&A, offering a preview of what audiences can expect from his upcoming National Geographic series \u2018Tucci in Great Britain\u2019.<\/p>\n

Agencies and advertisers were invited to experience immersive activations celebrating some of the unmissable content from Disney+, including Disney, Pixar, Hulu, Star Wars, National Geographic, Hulu and FX.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

ENDS<\/p>\n

*Source: BARB Q2 2026 vs Q2 2025 | Individuals 4+)<\/p>\n

**Source: Barb | Jan-Aug 2026 | Profile Base: Adults 16+.<\/p>\n

Press contact:<\/p>\n

Kate Davis,\u00a0kate.davis@disney.com<\/a><\/p>\n

About Disney+<\/p>\n

Disney+ is the dedicated streaming home for movies and shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic, along with \u2018The Simpsons\u2019 and outside the U.S., general entertainment brand Hulu. As the flagship direct-to-consumer streaming service from The Walt Disney Company, Disney+ serves as a connection point for audiences around the world with an unmatched collection of award-winning general entertainment, gold-standard family programming and global sports programming from ESPN. With unprecedented access to Disney\u2019s long history of incredible film and television entertainment, it is also the exclusive streaming home for the newest releases from The\u00a0Walt Disney Studios. For more, visit\u00a0disneyplus.com<\/a>, or find the Disney+ app on most mobile and connected TV devices.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"IMAGES – HERE LONDON, UK \u2013 6 October 2026:\u00a0Today, Disney Advertising welcomed hundreds of key clients from agencies…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":794801,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-794800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=794800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/794801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=794800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=794800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=794800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}