Super Bowl Ad Revenue Hit $370 Million in 2016

NEW YORK: Over the last ten years, in-game advertising during the Super Bowl generated $2.59 billion in network ad sales, according to new figures from Kantar Media.

The firm reports that the average price for a 30-second advertisement in the Super Bowl game has doubled during the past decade and reached $4.8 million in 2016. This makes it the most expensive commercial time on U.S. television by far. (The next two most expensive properties in 2016 were also football games: the NFC Championship at $2.2 million per 30 seconds and the AFC Championship at $1.8 million). The demand for ad time is pointing toward even higher rates for the 2017 game.

In 2016, sponsors paid nearly $370 million for in-game messages. When pre- and post-game programming is included, the total increases to $445 million for the one-day sporting event. This is nearly equal to the combined ad revenue of the four major U.S. broadcast networks in an average week for their entire programming schedules, and it exceeds the full-year ad expenditures on some national cable TV networks.