NFL ad revenue, which "had been increasing in September and October," was down 17% year-over-year in November, according to Jason Lynch of ADWEEK. While the decline was "partially attributed to there being four fewer football games this November than last year, the chief revenue drop-off was caused by a sharp increase in ADUs (audience deficiency units, or makegoods), for advertisers who didn't receive their guaranteed impressions earlier in the football season." NBC, the "only network with the same number of November NFL games as last year (six)," lost 17% in year-over-year football revenue. While its football ad rates were up 10%, to $720,949 for a 30-second spot, the net "had to reserve" 20% of its inventory for ADUs, compared to just 5.2% a year earlier. While CBS "had one less NFL game than last November (eight, down from nine)," its 26% "decline in revenue" was due to an ADU increase: close to 20% of its football inventory in November, compared to 11% last November. The network's football ad rates were down 1% from last November, to $455,090. Meanwhile, Fox had a 34% "decrease in gross spend, but had three fewer games this year." Its average unit cost for November was up almost 21% to $642,559, while makegoods increased "only slightly," from 20% last year to 25% this year. Lynch noted the "average NFL 30-second spot across all three major networks was $590,060 in November." That "excluded the three Thanksgiving games, which yielded much higher ad rates" (ADWEEK.com, 12/20). AD AGE's Anthony Crupi wrote because the NFL is "arguably the sole remaining regularly-scheduled property that validates the now-archaic term 'broadcast,' demand for in-game inventory has shown no sign of lagging." And despite drops in NFL ratings, the "asking price for a 30-second sliver of football-surrounded commercial time has only increased, in accordance with the law of supply and demand" (ADAGE.com, 12/20).
