Jackson Olson, the second baseman and social-media standout for the exhibition team the Savannah Bananas, will trade the baseball diamond for the dance floor this fall: he’s been tapped as a contestant on Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars, a casting reveal made during Disney’s upfront presentation to advertisers on Tuesday. The announcement arrived alongside a separate deal that places a significant chunk of the Bananas’ schedule on Disney-controlled platforms.
Olson’s participation is part of an expanded partnership between Disney and the team, which is best known for its theatrical “Banana Ball” games that blend sport with staged routines and comedy. Under the new agreement, Disney will stream dozens of the Bananas’ games and broadcast selected matchups on its linear networks.
What Disney will carry
Details issued at the upfront outline specific distribution plans for the upcoming season of the team’s schedule:
- Disney+ and the ESPN app will carry 25 Bananas games exclusively.
- Selected contests will also air on ESPN and ABC, increasing the team’s visibility on traditional sports channels.
- The league championship, known as the Banana Bowl, is scheduled to stream live on Disney+ this October.
The streaming commitment represents one of the more prominent examples yet of a sports-entertainment act moving its content behind a major streamer’s paywall while still feeding highlights and marquee events to broadcast networks.
Why it matters now
For viewers, the deal means easier access to a brand of baseball that was previously confined to smaller venues and viral clips: more games will be available in one place and some will reach national television audiences. For the Bananas, the arrangement formalizes a relationship with a media group that can amplify the team’s hybrid sports-and-entertainment model.
For Dancing With the Stars, adding Olson introduces a contestant with an existing digital following and a background in on-field performance, attributes producers often seek when expanding reach across demographics and platforms.
Neither Disney nor the Savannah Bananas provided additional casting or scheduling details beyond the upfront announcement, but the combined moves — a high-profile reality-TV slot for Olson and a multi-platform distribution deal for the team — were presented together as complementary elements of the collaboration.
Key takeaways
- Jackson Olson, Savannah Bananas second baseman and online personality, will compete on Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars this fall.
- Disney will exclusively stream 25 Bananas games on Disney+ and the ESPN app; select games will air on ESPN and ABC.
- The Banana Bowl championship game is slated to stream live on Disney+ in October.
As the season approaches, networks and streaming services will likely disclose schedules and the full DWTS cast list; for now, Olson’s crossover from viral baseball performer to televised dance competitor is the clearest sign of how sports, entertainment and streaming are converging in today’s media landscape.
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Hello, I’m Beckett. I cover series and show news for you to make your evenings more captivating.