Disney positioned the evening as a celebration of legacy and belonging, with new CEO Josh D'Amaro framing the company as an irreplaceable institution while Olivia Rodrigo delivered a showstopping finale that proved Disney+ remains the streaming destination for A-list talent.
Sources say D'Amaro's jab at competitors wasn't random β insiders note he's been frustrated watching rivals like Netflix and Amazon poach talent and sports rights. Meanwhile, Paul Anthony Kelly's American Horror Story reveal had the room buzzing; one attendee called it 'the most aggressively theatrical casting announcement of the night.'
D'Amaro stated: 'You cannot acquire a hundred years of trust.' NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Disney has secured Super Bowl 2027. Olivia Rodrigo performed three songs including new single Drop Dead, and Jason Kelce brought out ten Super Bowl MVPs including Jerry Rice, Peyton Manning, and Emmitt Smith.
D'Amaro passed his first test with flying colors β but the real test comes when those rival streaming services start actually competing with that 'hundred years of trust' Disney keeps banking on.
Disney's annual Upfront presentation at North Javits Center on May 12 wasn't just about selling ad space β it was Josh D'Amaro's coronation as the company's new CEO, and he came loaded for bear. After Bob Iger's surprise return to the stage for the last two years (his first time in three decades), the pressure was on D'Amaro to prove he belonged in that rarified air. His solution?
A little strategic shade-throwing at every competitor currently scrambling to build what Disney already has. "Everybody, in their own way, is racing to assemble something," D'Amaro told the room full of media executives. "Studios.
Streaming services. Sports rights. Live events.
Brands that audiences feel something about." He wasn't done there. "The thing is, you cannot acquire a hundred years of trust. You can't put generations of belonging on a balance sheet." That's not just confidence β that's a shot directly at Netflix, Amazon, and whoever else has been circling Disney's empire while Iger was busy playing peacemaker.
Whether that bravado holds up when the quarterly numbers come in remains to be seen. The night balanced celebrity spectacle with sports muscle in ways only Disney can pull off. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell took the stage alongside Joe Buck to announce what everyone already knew: Disney's got Super Bowl 2027 locked down.
Jason Kelce then proceeded to roll out an absurd lineup of Super Bowl MVPs β Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Steve Young, Emmitt Smith, Desmond Howard, Jerry Rice, Hines Ward, Kurt Warner, and Nick Foles β because apparently Disney decided one Hall of Fame quarterback wasn't enough. Goodell even got in on the fun, hugging Buck in that aggressively performative way he's become known for at NFL Drafts. Meanwhile, Shaquille O'Neal showed up with "Shaq stats" alongside Dallas Mavericks rising star Cooper Flagg and New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, who was fresh off sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers to reach the Eastern Conference finals.
But the real drama happened when American Horror Story took over. Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Gabourey Sidibe, Billie Lourd, and Emma Roberts gathered on stage to deliver what might be the most theatrical casting announcement of the year: FX heartthrob Paul Anthony Kelly β who played John F. Kennedy Jr. in Love Story just to establish his dramatic cred β would be joining Ryan Murphy's horror anthology.
"We've been expecting you, Paul," Paulson deadpanned into the microphone. The room went appropriately eerie. Olivia Rodrigo closed things out with a three-song set that made Amazon's afterparty look quaint by comparison.
Performing her new single Drop Dead alongside fan favorites Good 4 You and Get Him Back!, Rodrigo had the crowd eating out of her hand before pulling Jimmy Kimmel's daughter Jane on stage for a gang vocal finale. "That's it from me, probably forever," Jimmy joked moments earlier. We definitely won't see that prediction come true next year.
The evening ended with Billie Jean King delivering one of the night's most genuine moments β promoting Give Me The Ball, her documentary directed by Liz Garbus and Elizabeth Wolff about her impact on tennis and social activism. "We're just getting started," she declared before launching signed tennis balls into the crowd. It was a reminder that beneath all the shade, the Super Bowl flexing, and the horror casting theatrics, Disney still knows how to manufacture inspiration better than anyone in the business.
