Disney’s Rita Ferro on Bundles and Bob Iger’s Upfront Return

The hardest part was that they had to begin animating me about seven weeks ago, so I had to pick out my outfit almost two months ago so that my animated character matched my in-person appearance. I planned to wear a brooch on the left-hand side of my outfit, so the animation team had all these little details to get right, but they pulled it off perfectly. I loved how it looked, and as a bonus, my daughter thought the whole thing was pretty cool.

Have you had any early conversations or negotiations with marketers already? How are those going?

Upfront week is a week, but upfronts is really a season. Candidly, we begin having those conversations at CES. We ask our agency partners and clients what is important, what is their strategy and what is going to move the needle. With sports-heavy partners, we take extra pains to keep in constant conversation because that inventory is so valuable. Around this time of the year, though, those conversations do start to get more passionate. 

The dominant theme of the upfronts this year has been the prospect of the bundle. Disney has a forthcoming bundle that includes Disney+, Hulu and Max. How are buyers responding to that product?

The thinking behind the bundle with clients is effectively: How do we give them more opportunity to buy on the entertainment side? Disney+, Hulu and Max have complementary audiences and content, and the bundle is a way for us to give customers access to both on a bigger scale. We know, based on what we’ve seen with Hulu and Disney+, that these tie-ups drive more engagement and time spent. Ultimately, what’s good for consumers will be good for brands.

Will Disney be back at the upfronts next year? 

We have worked hard to get the format of our show into its best possible shape, and we think we got closer than ever to that this year. We understand the value of upfronts because it highlights why people spend the money they do with us and the value they get from starting their media strategies off with Disney. I can tell you that in all likelihood, we will be back next year.