With kickoff of the Super Bowl still more than a week away, NBCUniversal Media LLC said Feb. 3 it has sold out all of the in-game units, with some exceeding $7 million per 30-second spot.
That level represents the high-water mark for messaging within the NFL championship game, which this year pits the Cincinnati Bengals against the Los Angeles Rams on Feb. 13. A handful of spots remain available within the pregame coverage, according to NBCU.
The same in-game commercials will run on NBC (US), NBC Sports' digital properties — including streaming service Peacock — and Telemundo (US), which will become the first Spanish-language broadcast network to televise a Super Bowl.
NBCU said its sales efforts have yielded an average unit price record for the championship contest. It also noted there had been more transactions this year within the automotive, technology, entertainment, travel and health and wellness categories compared to last year's CBS coverage of the Super Bowl.
The roster includes more than 30 new advertisers — about 40% of the total — that were not part of last year's game. A dozen categories are represented within that group, mostly from the automotive, technology and travel sectors.
As of September 2021, NBC disclosed there were less than five unsold units remaining in the NFL title game, and the company had sold some 30-second spots for $6.5 million. The company later said it had retained a handful of units, as it hoped to capitalize on buys from companies whose commercials might resonate and play into the matchup.
CBS generated an estimated $486.7 million in ad revenue from 42 minutes of advertising within the 2021 Super Bowl, according to data from ad-tracker Kantar Media Intelligences Inc. Some 30-second units in that game fetched prices of $5.5 million and more. CBS averaged 91.6 million viewers for its coverage of Tampa Bay's 31-9 blowout of Kansas City, the smallest Super Bowl audience since 2007.
Given the higher ad rate this year, the expectation is that NBC will score a record in-game ad tally, although it should be pointed out that longtime Super Bowl sponsors like Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV and PepsiCo Inc., which traditionally have run multiple in-game spots, likely pay a lower rate.
"The NFL has never been stronger and has led us to new records this year. From 'Sunday Night Football' to 'Football Night in America' and through the nail-biting playoffs, we've seen an increased appetite for fans to watch the NFL across all our platforms," said Mark Marshall, president of advertising and partnerships at NBCU, in a release.
Marshall noted that multiplatform consumption has attracted even more advertisers with the desire for the immediate scaled reach of sports, while the company's One Platform ad tech solutions suite has been "able to utilize these major moments to maximize viewership and drive business impact for our advertising partners."