Some 30-second Super Bowl commercials this year are selling for US$8M

A traveller walks past a Super Bowl advertisement at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Some 30-second Super Bowl commercials this year are selling for $8 million. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP via CNN Newsource)

Fox, the broadcaster of this year’s Super Bowl matchup, originally sought about US$7 million for 30 seconds of ad time during the game, the highest-rated event in the United States.

But corporate demand has surpassed even Fox’s expensive ambitions. The network has sold at least 10 of its Super Bowl commercial spots for upward of $8 million each, a person with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed to CNN.

The $7 million figure was already a record, so $8 million sets the bar even higher for next year’s game, given that the Super Bowl is a one-of-a-kind sports and media spectacle. Despite pressures in almost every other part of the television industry, the Super Bowl just keeps growing.

The $8 million deals were done relatively recently, the source said, after some expected sponsors sought to give up their ad time slots.

Companies pull their advertisements out of the Super Bowl for all sorts of reasons: Sometimes they reserve time months in advance but then conclude that they don’t have the perfect 30-second message to spend the money on. This year, the California wildfires caused one sponsor, State Farm Insurance, to step back.

There are no true take-backs however; the companies that reserved Super Bowl time and opt not to use it wind up with ads on other Fox programs at other times, instead.

In any case, there were more than enough companies eager to replace them, which is why Fox was able to command $8 million.

Some previously announced advertisers include Pepsi, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Squarespace, and Stellantis. Many other companies will roll out their commercial plans in the days ahead of the Feb. 9 game.

Brian Stelter, CNN