Networks Getting Early Season Hike in NFL Game Ad Prices

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With football continuing as a TV powerhouse, networks have been able to score higher prices for commercials in NFL games this season, according to research company Standard Media Index.

According to data from the first week for the season, the biggest increases for spots in games came at CBS, which was up 9% and Fox, up 6%.

SMI expects total revenue for those first-week NFL broadcasts to be up at least 5%, with a per-game average of $560 million.

Ratings for NFL games rebounded last year, and those gains are reflected in the prices advertisers were willing to pay for commercials, SMI said. A year ago pricing was down because of the unusual decline in NFL ratings during the 2017 season.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.