Taking Their Shots

CBS and Turner are “already about 95% sold out of commercial inventory” for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, according to Baysinger & Consoli of BROADCASTING & CABLE. The networks, whose sales teams are selling the tournament jointly, have “gotten mid-single-digit price increases over last year," and 30-second spots in the April 2 championship game "have sold for as much as $1.5 million.” Sources said that ads in opening-round games “sold this year at an average price of $90,000 per :30, while spots in the regional finals sold for between $600,000 and $700,000.” Turner Sports Exec VP/Ad Sales & Marketing Jon Diament said, “We are almost sold out. We’ve written a lo ...