‘Dancing with the Stars’ waltzes into new season with record number of advertisers

“Live from Hollywood, it’s Dancing with the Stars!”

A ballroom fan would recognize that phrase anywhere, and last week, those words ushered in the return of ABC’s hit competition dance show for its 35th season—this time with the most advertiser interest it’s ever seen and overall ad revenue up 5x year over year, according to John Campbell, SVP of streaming, entertainment, and multicultural solutions at Disney Advertising.

Season 35 is supported by four season-long sponsors, including AT&T, Paris Baguette, Sephora, and Olipop, as well as seven custom sponsors, including financial services brand Thrivent, the upcoming film The Cat in the Hat, Gatorade, Panera, and several others, according to Disney.

In fact, while assembling Season 35’s advertiser roster, Campbell faced a challenge, he told us: He was facing too much brand interest.

“Even before the cast announcement, even before we knew what the 16 pairs were going to be, we actually at one point had to take an inbound pause with our production partners because we just needed time to be able to figure out who we can and can’t take,” he said.

The brand excitement comes from last season’s commanding viewership and engagement numbers, which reached more than 9 million viewers at the time of the Season 34 finale and more than 72 million votes cast, a 125% increase compared to Season 33, according to Campbell. As Season 35 kicks off, executives are hoping for a similar success story, and to keep its advertisers dancing right along.

The power of jive live

Dancing with the Stars has evolved to offer much more than just a broadcast slot for its advertisers. Still, the live weekly show is a key component of its appeal to brand partners, especially considering its live-voting component.

After sponsoring the show’s finale last year, AT&T signed on this season to be DWTS’s official voting sponsor, Scott Klatskin, associate VP of consumer wireless and brand media, told us. The telco brand’s biggest goal for this partnership is to “enhance the fan experience” and “build consideration [and] positive opinion” around the brand, Klatskin said; to do so, he added, the company signaled its interest in expanding its involvement earlier this summer during routine meetings with Disney and ABC to discuss ongoing sports partnerships.

The idea for originally getting involved with the show, though, came much earlier.

“About a year ago, we were looking across the landscape and really trying to find properties that really promoted this idea of connecting people together,” he said. “Obviously sports does a really good job of that. But outside of sports, Dancing with the Stars does that better than anything.”

Sports TV ad spending is set to grow by $5.3 billion between 2026 and 2030, according to data from Emarketer, powering the growth of live TV event spend, but it often comes with high prices to match. While DWTS is only one of several non-sports live titles diversifying the appeal and options in the live category, its cultural power was enough to convince at least one brand that typically limits its television advertising to get on board.

Paris Baguette, a bakery chain and an official partner of Season 35, runs TV ad spots “few and far between,” Cathy Chavenet, CMO for North America, told us, as it can be one of the “pricier components” of the company’s marketing. But during last week’s DWTS premiere, the brand debuted a 30-second ad spot starring host and former cast member Julianne Hough, which led into an in-show integration later in the episode. Paris Baguette’s season-long sponsorship also includes themed latte and matcha menu items in its cafe locations nationwide, other custom content starring Hough on social channels, a DWTS podcast sponsorship, and an upcoming sweepstakes for tickets to the show’s finale, according to a release.

“It was really important to have this piece because we want to make sure that we are where our guests are,” Chavenet said. “We know that people are gathering around with friends and family, they’re getting excited each week to watch this show, and it’s a special moment in time, and we want to be part of that special moment.”

Across the floor

DWTS owes much of its recent success to younger audiences engaging with the series on social media, something that brand partners are recognizing.

“The conversation [with advertisers] starts with ‘Help me follow the fan everywhere that they are,’ and social is such a key component to that, especially younger audiences,” Campbell said. For much of this season’s custom content partnerships, he said, collaborating with the show’s talent on social is one way brands are looking to “be everywhere.”

Disney Advertising’s StorySync strategy, which helps place brands across the Disney portfolio, is also central in helping brands connect to audiences across DWTS and other Disney properties, Campbell said. In the case of DWTS partner Sephora, this involved an experiential presence at the fan event Dancing with the Stars Con, hosted in Palm Springs this summer, as well as on-air integrations, including a glam room.

One of the show’s most distinct offerings is the ability to incorporate a custom dance as part of an in-show integration. Several brand partners, including Gatorade, The Cat in the Hat, and Thrivent, will be showing up in this manner this season, Campbell said, and night one of the premiere featured a Paris-themed routine toward the end of the episode sponsored by Paris Baguette and choreographed by Hough. While it’s a show-stealing moment for both brand and viewer, some expressed bewilderment at the sudden insertion of a clearly branded dance.

“You’re always going to get conversation,” Chavenet said. “I thought the dance was beautiful. I thought it was well executed, and it’s Dancing with the Stars—they’re going to bring it to life in the best way.”