Airlines even have a name for the practice: yield management.

Mr. Chapek called this “yield management,” and it helped Disney recover financially from the pandemic.

Doug Hochstadt, senior vice president of revenue and yield management for the Disney ABC Television Group, said that even with an anticipated decline in the size of the audience for this year’s Oscars, the network has managed to stay close to its previous ad prices thanks to multiyear deals it has with some advertisers.

An airline-style yield management system, which can lower prices at the last minute to attract bookings, helps keep occupancy rates high and supports positive margins even at low prices.

“For others, it is yield management; for others it is farming certain varieties and not others, and for some it is more mechanization and less hand farming. There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but we are doing everything we can to help sustain our clients’ businesses.”