Fox will televise Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 2, 2014, and to "get one of the valuable ad slots available during the network’s broadcast of the game, sponsors have been told they must buy time in other Fox Sports content ... with emphasis placed on Fox Sports 1," according to sources cited by Brian Steinberg of VARIETY. A source said that using the Super Bowl to gain ad support for other sports properties "has become de rigeur in recent years." Both NBC and CBS "tied the purchase of Super Bowl ad time to buying a broader package of ad inventory in sports content." This wrinkle "surfaces as all the broadcasters save ABC (whose parent already owns ESPN) develop flanking sports outlets on cable." A source said that Fox is "open to the purchase of ad packages that do not include FS1, such as the Super Bowl pre-game show ... but the emerging network is getting most of the spotlight in pitches to advertisers." Sources said that as a "result of the packaging, Fox’s Super Bowl ad sales may be pacing behind last year’s effort from CBS." A Fox Sports spokesperson in an e-mail said, "We’re anticipating a very healthy marketplace for the NY/NJ Super Bowl in 2014" (VARIETY.com, 6/17).
