NBC Plans To Set Super Bowl XLIII Ad Entry Price At $3M

NBC next week plans to announce that $3M will "be the entry price" for a 30-second ad during Super Bowl XLIII next February, according to Futterman & Vranica of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The figure represents an 11.1% price increase over the $2.7M Fox charged for Super Bowl XLII this year, "roughly double the usual annual rise." NBC Universal Sports & Olympics Chair Dick Ebersol said of his sales team, "If they believe it's a target they can reach, then that's fantastic." Futterman & Vranica note while individual slots have "sold at that level before, it's never been the starting point for negotiations" for 30-second spots. Media buyers said that some of the final slots in Fox' broadcast this year went for around $3M. NBC, despite the struggling economy, is "confident advertisers will pay higher prices because of the record ratings for this year's game" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/6).