NFL Playoff Ad Inventory Nearly Sold Out On CBS, Fox

NFL playoff ad inventory is "virtually sold out" with some 30-second spots bringing in more than $1M for the AFC and NFC Championship games on CBS and Fox, respectively, "an all-time high," according to John Ourand in this week's SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. Ad rates are up 10-15% from last season's playoffs, with CBS and Fox averaging $900,000 per 30-second spot in the conference championship games. Both networks indicate that ad spots for the January 20 match-ups have been sold out "for about a month," and that "spots are scarce" for the divisional playoff games next weekend (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/7 issue).

SUPER BOWL: Nationwide Mutual Insurance, which has advertised on the Super Bowl the past three seasons, will sit out Super Bowl XLII on February 3 on Fox (USA TODAY, 1/7).