NBC Selling Six-Second Ads For PyeongChang Games, But Not Likely For Super Bowl LII

NBC plans to run six-second ads during its ’18 PyeongChang Games coverage, but the net almost certainly will not use the short-form ads during the Super Bowl, NBCU Exec VP/Sales & Marketing Dan Lovinger said yesterday on a press call. “(In the Winter Olympics), there are some natural transition points from a programming perspective as we move from event to event or from the anchor desk out to a venue where we can accommodate a six-second ad,” Lovinger said. As for the Super Bowl, he added, the “economics have to make sense before we move forward with something like that because you only have limited slices at the apple with an event like the Super Bowl.” From a revenue perspective, Lovinger said a quarter of the advertisers have bought time in both Super Bowl LII and the PyeongChang Games. Meanwhile, NBCU has expanded its Snapchat partnership for the Winter Games, with NBC exclusively selling filters and lenses during the event. “We're also selling the Snap O&O inventory, using data from Snap to effectively target Olympic enthusiasts,” Lovinger said (John Ourand, Staff Writer). Lovinger said that about 25% of NBC’s total revenue from the Super Bowl and Olympics will "come from advertisers that are buying spots in both events" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/31). AD AGE's Jeanine Poggi noted NBC will "double the amount of promo material" it is  creating for PyeongChang. NBCU "plans to air" about 7,200 spots "compared to the 5,500 spots it ran" during the '14 Sochi Games (ADAGE.com, 10/30).

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO....:VARIETY's Brian Steinberg reported viewership for TV’s annual Oscars broadcast is at a "relative low, but that isn’t keeping ABC from seeking some of the highest costs possible to advertise in next year’s broadcast." Sources said that ABC is "seeking as much" as $2.6M for a 30-second commercial in '18. ABC is "said to be nearing sell-out of commercial inventory for next year’s broadcast, and is working on a few deals that would weave some sponsors in and around the show in a more significant way." In '17, the average price of a 30-second spot in the Oscars came to $1.897M (VARIETY.com, 10/30).