Commercial Development: Fox Nearly Sold Out Of Super Bowl Ads

By John Ourand, Staff Writer

Fox has five-seven spots remaining for the '08 Super Bowl and expects to sell the game out by the middle of November, according to a senior network exec. With its broadcast more than 90% sold, Fox expects to sell the remaining units for about $2.7M per 30-second spot. Fox' pace would mark the fastest Super Bowl ad sellout in years. Last year, CBS did not sell out the game until just two days before the event. CBS' most expensive units sold for $2.6M per 30-second spot. Fox credits the increased demand on renewed interest from movie companies, which are slated to take 10 spots this year compared to two last year. Autos also has been a strong category for this year's Super Bowl. A-B, Pepsi and Cars.com have all made significant buys. Though the game is sandwiched around the BCS Championship and Daytona 500, Fox execs say they are selling each event separately and not bundling them.