The network’s first Super Bowl broadcast rights will come with “Year of the Super Bowl” programming across every Disney platform imaginable
ESPN doesn’t do anything halfway, and their first-ever Super Bowl broadcast is proof. Instead of just prepping for Super Bowl 61 in Los Angeles next February, the network is treating the entire year leading up to it as “Year of the Super Bowl” a sprawling, multi-platform campaign designed to keep football fans thinking about the biggest game 365 days a year. This isn’t some casual promotional effort. This is ESPN, ABC, Disney, and every other major property under the Mickey Mouse corporate umbrella working together to make sure nobody forgets that Super Bowl 61 is coming, and ESPN is broadcasting it.
The campaign actually started Sunday night during Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara
Chris Berman, the legendary anchor who’s covered 44 consecutive Super Bowls, anchored “The Handoff” from SoFi Stadium. Then Scott Van Pelt took over with a 90-minute Super Bowl wrap-up from the same stadium that will host Super Bowl 61 on February 14, 2027. The symbolism is obvious: passing the torch from this Super Bowl to the next one. But it’s also savvy marketing you’re literally ending one Super Bowl by showing people what the next one will look like.
The scope of what ESPN is planning is almost absurd in its comprehensiveness
Andy Tennant, ESPN’s vice president of Super Bowl planning, put it bluntly: “We’re the first 24/7 sports network to ever be a rights holder to broadcast the Super Bowl. We see that not only as an opportunity, but we see it as a responsibility.” That’s corporate-speak for “we own the Super Bowl now and we’re going to milk this for everything it’s worth.”
There’s “We’re Going,” a 60-second spot featuring Disney characters alongside ESPN and ABC personalities
There’s “I Scored a Touchdown,” a series spotlighting 61 players who have scored in Super Bowls throughout history literally one player for each year of the game’s existence. The first episode featured David Tyree, the former Giants wide receiver, because if you’re going to start a series about Super Bowl touchdown scorers, you might as well start with one of the most iconic plays in Super Bowl history.
Then there’s “The Biggest Game” podcast hosted by Jeremy Schaap, which literally premiered this week. The first episode featured Berman himself, reflecting on four decades of Super Bowl coverage. New episodes will drop weekly as the NFL draft approaches in April, which means ESPN is basically committing to constant Super Bowl content from now until next February. That’s not promotion that’s saturation strategy.
ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro positioned this as more than just marketing hype
“This fan-focused initiative unites our company’s beloved brands with industry-leading storytelling and technology to showcase football’s greatest stories, heroes, and moments like never before,” he said. “Across our platforms, screens, and parks, we’ll build momentum throughout the year toward Super Bowl 61.”
Notice the phrase “screens and parks” that means ESPN is planning to promote the Super Bowl everywhere, including Disney theme parks. This is a full corporate assault on the culture of sports, designed to make Super Bowl 61 impossible to ignore no matter where you are or what you’re doing.
What makes this strategy interesting is that it actually makes sense for ESPN
This is their first Super Bowl broadcast after years of the game bouncing between CBS, NBC, and Fox. They need to prove they can handle it. They need to build audience anticipation. They need to remind people that Super Bowl 61 exists and that ESPN is broadcasting it. In a fractured media landscape where attention is constantly divided, this kind of year-long campaign is probably the only way to guarantee Super Bowl 61 breaks through the noise.
Whether it works depends on whether football fans get tired of Super Bowl content before next February, or whether ESPN manages to sustain momentum through the entire offseason. Given the way ESPN operates, they’re betting on saturation winning out over fatigue.
