Are you a business with an extra $4.5 million lying around? If so, you can give it to NBC for a 30-second spot during next year’s Super Bowl in February.
According to Variety, that’s the asking price the Peacock wants for a 30-second commercial, which is a 12.5 percent increase over what FOX sought for last year’s game. (For those keeping score, that’s $150,000 per second.)
While this sounds crazy, it’s important to note that the Super Bowl annually is the most-watched television event. Super Bowl XLVIII between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks drew in a record 111 million viewers. That’s a lot of eyeballs. Also, take into account that sports in general are DVR-proof. It’s hard to record any sporting event, let alone the Super Bowl, without finding out what’s going on because of social media.
Finally, there is a sort of aura to a Super Bowl commercial. Every year, it’s hard to ignore a voice from someone who says, “Oh, I don’t care about the game. I’m just going to watch for the ads.” No one watches the World Series or the Stanley Cup Final for its commercials. It’s a unique situation for the Super Bowl, and it’s a big reason why corporations pay big money to produce creative and memorable ads.
NBC also is asking companies seeking ad spots to pay a similar amount for ad space that will be used on sister networks like Telemundo and NBCSN.
