Disney lauds sport as ABC relies on returners

Disney laid out a star-studded upfront in New York on Tuesday, but while talent was in abundance there was little new programming to discuss.

Chief exec Bob Iger was on hand for the second year in a row, while NFL stars Patrick Mahomes and Saquon Barkley took to the stage to put sports front and centre at the ESPN owner’s event.

Fellow NFL stars Eli and Peyton Manning also made appearances, following news that Disney’s soon-to-launch standalone sport streaming service will be named ESPN and cost $29.99 a month or $35.99 a month when bundled with Disney+. ESPN also holds NBA rights.

On the entertainment front, Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach from The Bear were among more than 100 stars from the Disney empire making appearances at the event.

Disney’s US broadcast network ABC – which also has Super Bowl rights from 2027 – had earlier confirmed its fall schedule, which will see ESPN’s Monday Night Football leading of the week.

Procedural 9-1-1: Nashville has been confirmed in a Thursday night slot, after it landed a straight-to-series order in February. The show marks the latest addition to the 9-1-1 franchise, which previously spawned the now cancelled 9-1-1: Lone Star.

The Nashville version is from Disney’s 20th Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television and stars Chris O’Donnell, Jessica Capshaw, LeAnn Rimes and Kimberly Williams-Paisley.

BBC Studios format Dancing with the Stars returns on Tuesdays followed by the second season of High Potential, the US remake of hit Franco-Belgian format HPI, while Wednesdays host returning quartet Abbott Elementary, Shifting Gears, The Golden Bachelor and Shark Tank.

The original 9-1-1 series leads Thursday followed by 9-1-1: Nashville and Grey’s Anatomy, with Ryan Seacrest making his Celebrity Wheel of Fortune debut on Friday, followed by ABC News’ 20/20.

New seasons of previously announced returning series American Idol, Celebrity Jeopardy!, The Rookie and Will Trent will debut in 2026.

All episodes will be available to stream next day on Hulu.

Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group, said his programming strategy was focused on “maintaining stability, delivering quality, and driving innovation, with new shows and returning favourites from some of the industry’s top creators and biggest stars.”