$3 Million for Super Bowl Spots?

Network seeking a 10% hike in ad rates although there's no guarantee the 2009 game can match the record 97.4 million viewers the Giants-Patriot battle drew.

NBC Universal will try to get $3 million for most 30-second television commercials during the 2009 Super Bowl, but advertisers may have reason to resist the hefty increase. The 2009 game is scheduled in Tampa February 1.

The Wall Street Journal reported in May 2008 that NBC will use $3 million as "the starting point for negotiations" with advertisers, 10% higher than any previous starting point. According to the Journal, prices for the spots traditionally increase about 5% per year.

The Fox network charged $2.7 million for most 30-second spots during the 2008 Super Bowl. Since the exciting New York Giants-New England Patriots game drew a record 97.4 million viewers the cost per viewer was about 2.7 cents. At $3 million per spot, the cost would be about 3.1 cents per viewer for the same size audience.

NBC is using the 2008 record audience as a selling point for the 2009 commercials, but advertisers aren’t guaranteed those numbers next year. The Giants-Patriot battle featured two of professional football’s most popular teams from two of the largest television markets in the nation, top ranked New York and the seventh-ranked Boston/Manchester area.

The odds of those same two teams making it back to the Super Bowl are extremely small. The only repeat match in Super Bowl history was the 1994 game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills. They met in Pasadena in 1993 and again in Atlanta in 1994.

About half of the National Football League teams are located in television markets ranked 15th to 70th.

The Journal reported that major Super Bowl advertisers like Anheuser-Busch lock in lower rates by signing contracts for multiple spots over several years.

References: Matthew Futterman and Suzanne Vranica, Wall Street Journal, May 6, 2008; Downtown Magazine.com