Automakers have spent more than $168.3 million in advertising during Rio Olympic broadcasts on NBC and its sister networks through the first two weeks of the Games, more than twice that of any other industry, according to a SportsBusiness Journal analysis of iSpot.tv data. Twenty-two different auto brands have been featured during a total of 1,573 spots.
| Industry (top spender) |
No. of brands (unique ads) |
No. of airings (prime time) |
Estimated TV spend |
| Auto makers (Chevrolet) |
22 (85) |
1,573 (310) |
$168,344,834 |
| Insurance (Geico) |
9 (24) |
1,083 (160) |
$78,392,649 |
| Movies (“Sing”) |
15 (36) |
723 (149) |
$69,762,270 |
| Banks and credit cards (Visa) |
7 (23) |
363 (80) |
$51,070,332 |
| Wireless service (T-Mobile) |
8 (16) |
624 (88) |
$45,782,909 |
| Quick-serve restaurants (McDonald’s) |
10 (18) |
508 (96) |
$42,937,432 |
| Mobile devices (Samsung) |
2 (9) |
193 (35) |
$33,004,507 |
| Beer (Budweiser) |
7 (16) |
667 (92) |
$28,349,88 |
| Fuel and motor oil (ExxonMobil) |
2 (5) |
275 (38) |
$21,976,419 |
| Consumer technology (General Electric) |
2 (8) |
243 (48) |
$20,621,469 |
Source: SBJ analysis of iSpot.tv data
