The NFL "remains the hottest ticket in town for TV advertisers, as inventory in the sport's coast-to-coast broadcast packages is once again out-pricing just about everything else on the tube," according sources cited by Anthony Crupi of AD AGE. The priciest slice of primetime real estate is "once again a 30-second spot" on NBC's "SNF," which is charging $665,375 per unit, "with late scatter buys from the likes of movie studios and telco brands pacing well over the $700,000 mark." The average cost for a 30-second "SNF" commercial in '14 "was a little over $625,000." That year, "SNF" was the "most-watched, top-rated program in prime time." Sources said that Fox "will once again command the highest ad rate on TV for a regularly-scheduled program, securing around $689,225 for 30 seconds of time" on its NFL Sunday national window telecasts, with "scatter buys rising well above that mark." CBS is "asking around $637,415 per unit." Ads during ESPN's "MNF" are "selling for around $427,685 a pop," while CBS's eight-game "TNF" lineup is "pricing at around $547,151" per 30 seconds. The auto category "remains a big backer of both weeknight broadcasts, as Toyota has returned as the 'MNF' halftime sponsor while Lexus is back to support the 12-minute 'TNF' intermission." Only a handful of general-entertainment programs "boast NFL-gauge muscle in the marketplace." Fox' "Empire" is "commanding an average unit cost of around $500,000 per :30, while AMC's 'The Walking Dead' is not all that far behind" (ADAGE.com, 9/15).
SPENDING SLOWDOWN: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Nathalie Tadena cites Kantar Media data as showing that Q2 ad spending on TV platforms, "which represent the bulk of marketers’ ad dollars, fell 4.5%." Network TV ad spending "was up 1%, though year-ago spending levels were impacted by the Winter Olympics as several marketers moved TV budgets from the second quarter into the first quarter to advertise around the sporting event." On a normalized basis, network TV spending "was down slightly for the second quarter." Cable TV spending "was down 5.1% for the quarter" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/16).
