Disney’s Ad Chief Rita Ferro Drives Push Into Super Bowl, Oscars and Grammys

CNBC reported Sunday that Disney’s global advertising president Rita Ferro is spearheading an aggressive expansion of the company’s already robust ad business, with three of the entertainment world’s biggest events on the horizon.

Disney is set to host the Super Bowl, the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards in 2027. Each property is a major advertising revenue driver. Ferro is currently deep in upfront negotiations with brand partners, pressing Disney’s case as the premier destination for premium audiences.

The “One Disney” Strategy Takes Shape

Ferro told CNBC that fandom sits at the core of Disney’s pitch to advertisers. She described a model that links brand partnerships across the company’s film studio, theme parks and media properties in a way she says goes well beyond a conventional media sales role.

The approach aligns with the vision of newly installed CEO Josh D’Amaro, whose so-called “One Disney” framework seeks to unify the company’s sprawling divisions. Ferro said the ability to connect a single advertiser to a park activation, a movie premiere and a streaming slot simultaneously creates a more compelling and dynamic offer than traditional TV buying alone.

Disney has also invested heavily in its own advertising technology platform, and Ferro has pushed to extend the company’s intellectual property advantages into international markets.

A Career Built Without a Blueprint

Ferro’s route to the top of Disney’s advertising operation was anything but conventional. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she grew up in Miami and moved to New York after studying at Florida International University with ambitions to work in copywriting and art direction.

One class was enough to steer her elsewhere. She gravitated toward fundraising and promotion work, eventually joining MTV Latin America in the early 1990s, helping build a cable advertising market that barely existed at the time. That ground-level experience, she told CNBC, suited her well because there was no established playbook to follow.

Her fluency in Spanish and regional expertise brought her to Disney, where she has spent 29 years. She held roles at ESPN International, Disney’s Kids and Family networks and Disney Interactive before becoming U.S. advertising president in 2018. In 2023 she took over the global portfolio, overseeing ad sales across linear, digital and streaming platforms.

Upfronts Signal a Broader Industry Shift

Disney’s pitch comes as the wider media industry reassesses the value of advertising at a moment when traditional television, streaming services and social platforms are all competing fiercely for the same viewer attention and brand dollars. Disney’s combination of live sports, awards tentpoles and franchise entertainment gives it an unusually strong hand heading into the 2027 sales cycle.

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