Sales of Super Bowl ads are holding up fairly well, even at $3 million for 30 seconds. But commercial spots that will run in the pregame hours? That’s a different ball game.
People who buy ad time on behalf of advertisers say NBC is having a tough time selling out the ads that will run in the four hours or more leading up to the Feb. 1 championship. Now the network is making deals to more quickly move unsold inventory for the less-watched but still pricey pregame spots.
“Things have been softening for a while,” said Gary Carr, director of national broadcast at media buyer TargetCast tcm in New York. “There’s some attractive pricing to be had.”
For instance, prices for commercials that will air before the game are coming down perhaps by as much as a third from NBC’s initial asking price, advertising buyers said. NBC declined to discuss pricing specifics.
Depending on the number of ads bought or the hour of the day, pregame ads can cost about half the price of an in-game commercial, ad buyers said. That would mean some of this year’s pregame ads could cost more than $1 million for 30 seconds.
To be sure, pregame spots don’t have the same cachet as those during the game. Companies that see the Super Bowl as a must-buy, with its 100 million viewers, already are committed to advertising during the game — and they’re usually not the same ones that purchase pregame time.
While there’s typically some unsold pregame spots in the final days before the game, several ad buyers said the bad economy is giving advertisers more pause this year. Sales took a hit after the economy took a drastic turn for the worse last September.
Another problem is that last-minute purchases of ads can be tough creatively. Companies are reluctant to run existing commercials, given the Super Bowl’s reputation for inventive spots. With one week to go, ad agencies are running out of time to put together something memorable.
Still, advertising buyers were impressed that NBC was able to sell many of its spots during the Super Bowl for a good price considering the downturn. The list price was a record $3 million for 30 seconds, on average, compared to $2.7 million last year. TNS Media is projecting a record haul of $200 million in in-game ad revenue for NBC.
“Given this unprecedented recession, NBC is doing a great job,” said Christine Merrifield, director of video investment at media buyer MediaVest in New York, a unit of Publicis Groupe in Paris.
Ad buyers said between six to 10 commercial spots are left to be sold for the game itself.
For the pregame show, whatever spots aren’t filled will probably carry promotional ads from NBC, unless the network trims its pregame broadcast. The network said it’s not unusual for remaining inventory to be sold at the last minute.
“We are progressing on pregame and traditionally much of the inventory is sold the week of the game,” said Brian Walker, senior director of communications at NBC Sports in New York.
DGA Feature Nominees: Audiard, Baker, Berger, Corbet and Mangold
The field of feature nominees for the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards spanning two categories is set. Nominated for the DGA honor for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film for 2024 are: Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez, Sean Baker for Anora, Edward Berger for Conclave, Brady Corbet for The Brutalist, and James Mangold for A Complete Unknown.
The DGA also revealed the nominees for the Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film. The first-time narrative feature directors are: Payal Kapadia for All We Imagine as Light, Megan Park for My Old Ass, RaMell Ross for Nickel Boys, Halfdan Ullman Tondel for Armand, and Sean Wang for Diddy.
“2024 has been a truly extraordinary year for storytelling--and today’s nominees have created audacious and unique films that expand the possibilities of cinematic excellence,” said DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter. “I am thrilled to congratulate all our nominated directors for their brilliant work, which is visionary, inspirational and speaks to the depth of the human experience. To be chosen by one’s peers is the true marker of outstanding directorial achievement and what makes these nominations so very special.”
The winners will be announced at the 77th Annual DGA Awards on Saturday, February 8.
Here’s a fuller rundown of the nominees in both DGA Award categories:
THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film for 2024 (in alphabetical order):
JACQUES AUDIARD
Emilia Pérez
(Netflix)
SEAN... Read More