The big game is now in the books. Roughly 111 million people tuned in on Feb. 5 to see who brought their A-game on Super Bowl Sunday. Who delivered a winning performance? Was there an unforgettable moment? Oh, and the Giants and Patriots also played a football game.
Leading up Super Bowl XLVI, the commercials were as much a part of the discussion as whether the Patriots’ offensive line could stop the Giants’ defensive front. .
Since the cost of a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl first hit the $1 million mark in 1995, the anticipation over the commercials has almost equaled the excitement of the game itself.
NBC sold 70 ad slots for Super Bowl XLVI, and the $3.5 million price tag was a 17-percent increase from a year ago. According to Forbes, the price of a Super Bowl ad has increased annually by an average of 5.7-percent over the past 14 years.
Advertisers bet millions that a celebrity, polar bear or supermodel would convince consumers to buy their products. But before the game even started, those gambles made NBC the real winner as the network raked in $245 million from the Super Bowl commercials.
However, Chris Beutler, chief vision officer for Hunt Valley-based production and creative agency, Renegade, believes the return for advertisers spans beyond the airing of the ads on game day alone.
“It's difficult to justify $3.5 million for 30-seconds, but considering the fragmentation of today's media, there is no doubting that the Super Bowl is the only real-time viewing event with that many concentrated eyeballs who aren't avoiding ads,” Beutler said. “Plus, there is now so much online discussion and viewing of the spots before the game, as well as for weeks after the Super Bowl, that the residual free media is well worth the price of entry if you can afford it.”
TV contracts are the bread and butter for professional sports. In December 2011, the advertising trade publication, Adweek, reported that the NFL renewed its media rights deals with NBC, CBS and FOX through the 2022 season. Under the agreements, the networks will rotate the rights to airing the Super Bowl.
While financial terms were not disclosed, industry experts estimated that NBC’s annual fee to the NFL increases from $603 million to just over $1billion in the new deal. CBS, who will also pay more than $1 billion annually, has the broadcast rights to Super Bowl XLVII from New Orleans , La.
It seems that the Giants weren’t the only winners on Super Bowl Sunday as both NBC and its advertisers enjoyed the third consecutive year in which the game broadcast broke the all-time record for most viewers. And they say only the guys on the field make the big money.
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