CBS: We've
sold out the Super Bowl
Ads go for up to $3 million for the game
By Diego Vasquez
Feb 2, 2010
Discounting Super Bowl spots from last year apparently worked for CBS.
The network told Media Life yesterday that it has sold out inventory for Sunday's big game, days earlier than last year, when NBC had to steeply reduce the price of its remaining spots.
CBS sold the estimated 50 to 60 spots for $2.5 million to $2.8 million, according to Kantar Media, though other reports say that the network was able to pump its price up to $3 million for some of the final spots.
Last year NBC claimed an average $3 million per spot, the highest ever for a Super Bowl ad, but some buyers speculated that number was inflated, saying the network had dropped its price in the final days before the game to move the last spots.
CBS had the bulk of the spots sold out in December despite the brutal recession that has crippled the ad economy over the past two years.
The network was likely buoyed by strong ratings for the NFL regular and postseason and speculation that this game could once again set an all-time record for viewership, perhaps topping 99 million viewers.
Still, some traditional Super Bowl advertisers, including Pepsi and Fed Ex, decided to sit the game out rather than invest millions in buying the spot and millions more in producing the creative.
But some brands decided the exposure would be worth that money, buying into the game for the first time. Those advertisers include Kia, Flo TV and KGB, whose ad was rejected yesterday by CBS censors (see related story in "Here & There").
The Super Bowl kicks off Sunday at 6 p.m. on CBS.
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