CBS President & CEO Les Moonves on Thursday said that a 30-second spot during Super Bowl 50 "will cost at least" $5M, according to Anthony Crupi of AD AGE. Moonves during CBS' Q4 earnings call "congratulated NBC on its strong showing in Super Bowl XLIX, which boasted an average in-game unit cost" of $4M per 30-second spot. Moonves added that his sales team "would top that mark" when CBS airs the '16 game. Moonves: "Five to six million dollars for a 30-second spot sounds pretty good to me." He later tempered his earlier statement, saying, "We're going to get north of $5 million (for each) Super Bowl (ad)." SportsBusiness Journal earlier this month reported CBS was asking $5M per 30-second ad. Crupi noted football "played a key role" in CBS' Q4 and full FY '14 earnings. The net "reported 4% ad sales growth in the Oct. 1-Dec. 31 period, as the revenue generated by its first season of 'Thursday Night Football'" totaled $85M. The inaugural "TNF" package "delivered 16.8 million viewers and a 10.4 household rating." Total-year sales fell 4%, or $324M, to $7.2B "on tough comps" with '13, during which CBS aired Super Bowl XLVII. Data from Kantar Media showed that CBS booked $292M in its most recent Super Bowl broadcast (ADAGE.com, 2/12). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Armental & Flint note CBS posted "a better-than-expected 3% rise" in Q4 revenue "on higher advertising revenue from the addition" of "TNF" and the midterm elections. Football "remains a powerful ratings driver." Advertising revenue during Q4 rose 4% to $2.15B, "driven in part by the broadcast" of "TNF" on CBS (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/13).
