ESPN wants to break the Super Bowl ratings record. Here’s how Disney could help

The NFL season just got underway, but preparations for the 2027 Super Bowl began at ESPN as soon as the 2026 game ended this past February. In what ESPN is calling “the year of the Super Bowl,” the TV network is gearing up to broadcast the most-watched big game for the first time in its nearly 50-year history. And right now, it’s exploring potential options for tapping into the intellectual property of its parent company, The Walt Disney Company, that could help draw in even more fans. Could that mean something like an animated, real-time alternate broadcast featuring characters from the likes of “Toy Story” or “The Simpsons?” Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN, can’t say just yet. But one thing is for sure, the Super Bowl is one of the top priorities, not only for ESPN but for Disney more broadly, he said. “Our goal is to have the highest rating of all time for this game,” Pitaro said, while speaking at the Fast Company Innovation Festival this week in New York. “And to get there, we need the power of The Walt Disney Company behind us.” As part of its mission to serve as “the front door of the starting point for sports fans,” ESPN has made moves to bring even more sports content to f…