Like the champagne in the Bachelor mansion, Disney may be putting the latest season of The Bachelorette on ice. But as the Mouse House weighs the decision, millions in ad dollars hang in the balance.
Disney and ABC made a shocking call last week to remove The Bachelorette from the network’s lineup days before it was set to air. The decision comes amid allegations of domestic violence against this season’s star, Secret Lives of Mormon Wives personality Taylor Frankie Paul, as well as a leaked video of an incident between Frankie Paul and her ex, Dakota Mortensen, from 2023.
In a statement, Disney said it wasn’t moving forward with the show “at this time,” and a rerun of American Idol was put in place of The Bachelorette’s planned debut on Sunday, March 22. However, Disney hasn’t been public with its plan for the time slot moving forward.
With the fate of Taylor Frankie Paul’s Bachelorette season in the air, here’s a look at the ad dollars potentially on the line.
In the series’ most recent season (Jenn Tran’s stint as Bachelorette in 2024), brands spent an estimated $30.7 million in advertising during episodes, according to iSpot.
ABC typically charges about $100,000 for a 30-second ad in the show, according to The Hollywood Reporter, with an average of half an hour of ads per two-hour episode.
Though the company could receive lower rates if it relies on fill-in programming, it seems Disney won’t lose all of the ad spend from the current season if The Bachelorette remains off the air.
A source familiar with the matter, which noted that ABC is currently the No. 1 entertainment network and up year-over-year (season to date), said, “Most advertisers have re-expressed their media dollars back into other ABC programming.”
Can these promos steal you for a minute?
In addition to the potential loss of ad dollars, Disney is also losing money from the media time devoted to promoting the show.
Since Feb. 9, promos for The Bachelorette have aired 870 times on national linear TV, according to iSpot. That has a media value of $8.2 million. It was one of ABC’s top properties for promos in media value since Feb. 9, behind only R.J. Decker and Scrubs.
Among the most impactful placements, iSpot noted that The Bachelorette promos aired four times during the 98th Oscars, live and during re-air. Placements in live events, including the Oscars, are premium inventory, with media value in the millions.
