How the TV ad blitzes for Disney, Apple, Amazon's streaming services stack up against each other

Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty images

Disney Plus launched on November 12.

• New data from measurement firm iSpot shows how Apple, Amazon, and Disney are pushing their streaming services on TV.
• Disney ramped up advertising for Disney Plus from September through early November, with an estimated 1.3 billion in TV impressions, 60% of which were on its own TV channels.
• But tech giants Apple and Amazon blanketed the airwaves, garnering nearly double the number of impressions with ads for their respective streaming services.
• Heading into the launch of Disney Plus, analysts posited that Disney would have marketing advantage over its competitors because of its massive portfolio of TV channels and other properties.
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"If people haven't heard of Disney Plus by today, they will," Ricky Strauss, president of content and marketing for Disney Plus, said at a November event in New York, days ahead of the streaming service's launch on Tuesday.

Disney mobilized its marketing machine to promote Disney Plus, pushing the service in its theme parks and resorts, in broadcasts of shows like "Good Morning America" and "Dancing With the Stars," through its personalities on social media, and in its Disney Store retail chain.

It's also been shoving ads for the service into major TV moments, according to data from iSpot.tv, a firm that tracks ads in national US TV broadcasts.

Disney ramped up TV advertising for Disney Plus during the last two months, and the last week, in particular.

From September 1 through November 10, roughly 20 ads for Disney Plus aired more than 2,500 times in the US, reaching a total of 1.3 billion impressions, or eyeballs. Impressions were highest during the last month, from Oct. 12 to November 10.

About 60% of those impressions came from Disney-owned networks like ESPN and ABC. But iSpot estimated the media value of the ads, if Disney were paying full price, would be worth nearly $25 million.

Disney was strategic about its media buys, too. It aired fewer ads than some of its competitors, but garnered nearly as many eyeballs by focusing on broadcasts with big audiences, including NFL games, the World Series, ESPN's SportsCenter, and college football matchups.

Still, the TV push for Disney Plus paled in comparison to how tech giants Apple and Amazon blanketed TV with ads for their streaming services

During the same period, ads for Apple TV Plus, which launched on November 1, made 2.7 billion impressions on TV, with an estimated media value of $48 million.

Ads for Amazon Prime Video, which has been promoting the return of "Jack Ryan" heavily, made roughly 2 billion impressions, worth $37 million.

Streaming leader Netflix's promotions were much more modest. The company made 344 million impressions on national TV, worth about $11 million, during the time period.

Heading into the launch of Disney Plus, analysts posited that Disney would have a marketing advantage over its competitors because it already had a strong global fanbase, and a massive portfolio of TV channels and other properties push the service on.

Here is the iSpot data for a selection of streaming services, from September 1 through November 10:

• Apple TV+
  • 3,716 airings
  • 2.7 billion impressions
  • $47.7 million estimated media value
• Amazon Prime Video
  • 3,626 airings
  • 2 billion impressions
  • $36.6 million estimated media value
• Hulu
  • 10,752 airings
  • 1.9 billion impressions
  • $28.2 million estimated media value
• Disney Plus
  • 2,516 airings
  • 1.3 billion impressions
  • $24.9 million estimated media value
• ESPN Plus
  
  • 3,531 airings
  • 974 million impressions
  • $10.4 million estimated media value
• Netflix
  • 361 airings
  • 344 million impressions
  • $10.9 million estimated media value