Disney Advertising said it has lined up a seven official sponsors for the 2022 ESPY Awards, including Capital One, returning for its 12th consecutive year.
First time sponsors Champion and Google, join Gatorade, Expedia, MassMutual and Simply Spiked Lemonade among the official sponsors. Commercials from more than 20 advertisers will appear during the broadcast.
“Each year our sponsors help bring this event to life and this year is no different,” said Deidra Maddock, VP, Disney Advertising Sports Brand Solutions. “We are incredibly proud of the brands who have collaborated with us in the presentation of numerous awards, special moments and feature integrations all contributing to the sports world's most highly anticipated annual celebration.”
According to Kantar, the 2021 ESPYs generated $6.5 million in ad revenue, up from $6.1 million in 2020.
As presenting sponsor, Capital One sponsor of the ESPYs Nomination Show and Preview Show on July 19th on ESPN. Capital One will also bring fans a series of ESPY moments during ESPN shows SportsCenter, Get Up, First Take and NBA Today. Other ESPY content will run on NFL Live, NBA Today, and Baseball Tonight from the Home Run Derby, presented by Capital One Topping it off, the Capital One Cup will be given to the best men’s and women’s Division I college programs.
The 50th anniversary of Title IX will be marked by a live musical performance that will be a backdrop for a spoken word piece featuring 50 of the most influential women athletes in the last 50 years. Immediately following this moment, first-time sponsors Champion and Google along with returning sponsor Gatorade will receive recognition for their association with ESPN’s Fifty/50 content initiative.
Gatorade will sponsor the prestigious Gatorade Athlete of the Year awards recognizing the nation’s most elite high school athletes/ Expedia will highlight standout talent with its sponsorship of this year’s Best Breakthrough Athlete award. Additionally, the brand will sponsor ESPYS Countdown, ESPN’s live digital show from the red carpet. MassMutual will sponsor the Pat Tillman Award for Service for the fourth year. Simply Spiked Lemonade from Molson Coors, will sponsor the ESPY for Best Men’s Athlete and the official post party.
Last year, MassMutual, Dove Men+Care, Blue Moon LightSky and Hotels.com were among the official ESPY sponsors.
According to iSpot.TV, Dove Men+Care, Hotels.com, MassMutual, Subway, Blue Moon, Gatorade, Pizza Hut, Capital One, Facebook and Wheels Up were the most-seen advertisers during the initial run of the ESPY awards in 2021.
The 2022 ESPYs will air live on ABC on July 20 at 8 p.m. ET. ■
