CBS is asking for roughly $5.5 million for each 30-second ad in next year’s Super Bowl, according to a source familiar with the matter. The pricing shows how much the NFL is the king of TV while also showing how desperate advertisers and networks have become for live events.
Super Bowl Next Year? Yes Or No?
However, without any guarantees that there will actually be a Super Bowl this year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the network would let advertisers out of their commitments if the game isn’t played. If the game is rescheduled, then the advertisers would move with the game, the source said.
The network would also charge advertisers another couple hundred thousand dollars for ads via the game’s digital broadcast.CBS declined to comment on this story. The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the numbers.
The $5.5 million price tag is about the same that Fox was asking for Super Bowl LIV, which took place earlier this year between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. It’s no surprise that the network, owned by ViacomCBS (VIACA), is asking for that much since the Super Bowl is the biggest event in all of television by a large margin.
Super Bowl Stats
Super Bowl LIV averaged 102 million viewers across several channels and streaming outlets in February. That number was up from last year’s game and followed a strong year for the NFL, which included ratings increases for its regular season and several rounds of the playoffs.
The league’s TV viewership last season was up roughly 5% overall from the previous year. It was the most-watched NFL season in three years.And there are reasons to believe that this year’s season could go up once again in the ratings.
Millions of people are staying in their homes more because of the global health crisis, so the NFL has a captive audience at a time when the days are getting shorter, and the weather is getting colder.
That said, the coronavirus could threaten the NFL’s ability even to have a season this year.
The league, which kicks off in just a few weeks, is pushing forward with a plan to play, but the pandemic has raised questions about whether the NFL will even be able to play a whole season.
Major League Baseball, for example, has had multiple coronavirus outbreaks so far this season, which has lead to games being postponed. Football, obviously, is much more of a contact sport.
Major college football conferences, like the Big Ten and Pac-12, have postponed their fall seasons. If the NFL postpones or suspends its season too, it would not only be a massive blow to the ad revenue of its network partners, but also leave a lot of airtime to fill.
The league plays multiple games on Sunday and numerous days a week, and those games are the lifeblood of many network’s schedules.The NFL kicks off its new season on September 10 as the Houston Texans take on the defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs.
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