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Fox has sold as much as 80% of
its ad inventory for the Super Bowl, according to a person familiar with
the situation, a signal that advertisers are moving earlier than ever to
secure good positions in TV programming that still has the power to secure
a broad audience.
At a time when most video content seems to reach fewer people than ever
before, the Super Bowl is reaching more. CBS's telecast of the event this
year set a record for broadcast television. It reached an average of 106.5
million people, topping the longstanding record set by CBS's telecast of
the series finale of "M*A*S*H" in 1983. Meanwhile, other top-tier programs
-- including many scripted series, such as ABC's "Lost" or Fox's "24" --
have seen ratings erode over time.
Fox is seeking between $2.8 million and $3 million for a 30-second spot in
the game, this person said -- a little more, it seems, than CBS sought for
this year's broadcast. Still, the initial pricing does not represent an
increase from NBC's efforts to seek $3 million a pop for every ad berth in
the 2009 game.
The ability to notch 80% of Super Bowl ad sales by June shows quite a
turnaround in advertiser fascination with the event. CBS hadn't reached
the 70% sell-out point for the 2010 game until September of last year. And
NBC only sold about 30% of its Super Bowl inventory when it completed its
2008 upfront sales in early June of 2008.
But even when the economy is in better shape, selling so much of the Super
Bowl before the leaves turn red and gold is abnormal. Selling 90% of the
inventory in the 2008 game, the last time Fox broadcast the pigskin
classic, took the network until late October of 2007.
General Motors has signed up to advertise in the game, according to a
report in The Wall Street Journal, after being absent from it in 2009 and
2010. A GM spokeswoman said the company is "not announcing any specific
plans at this time." Mediaweek previously reported some elements of Fox's
Super Bowl sales efforts.
Source: AdAge, 06/07/2010 |