Comcast’s NBC Sports said it has seen strong demand for Super Bowl 56 and recently sold one 30-second commercial for $6.5 million.
NBC Sports Group executive VP for sales Dan Lovinger said that all but about five spots for the Super Bowl have been sold. NBC is holding off selling that last handful of ads on purpose.
“There’s plenty of interest in those units and we’re trying to find out the best ways to monetize those units,” Lovinger said.
For the past few years, Super Bowl spots have been selling in the $5.5 million range, excluding advertisers paid lower prices under long-term commitments.
The advertiser that paid $6.5 million for the Super Bowl spot also made a similar-sized commitment to other NBC properties, he added.
Lovinger said that NBC’s Sunday Night Football package is very well sold, with record setting price increases in the double-digit range in the upfront. The scatter market is also strong, with pricing 30% above upfront levels.
CBS Sports reported similiarly strong NFL sales for this season. Fox said it is taking advantage of the strong market by beginning to sell commercials in the Super Bowl it will broadcast in 2023.
Lovinger said that NBC’s other sports properties are also seeing strong demand.
Coming off the Tokyo Olympics, Lovinger said advertisers that saw strong returns on their Olympic investment were eager to tap those large, passionate audiences again.
The Winter Olympics are virutally sold out, he said. and new requests for Winter Olympic inventor are being looked at on a case-by-case basis.
NBC finds itself in a unique position because, for the first time, it is selling a Super Bowl that will air while one of its Olympics is going on.
Also seeing good sales were NBC”s golf, auto racing and soccer packages.
