NBC Sports Group is about to go to the ad sales market with a package that includes the two biggest sports events on the 2018 calendar: Super Bowl LII and the Pyeongchang Olympics.
The Winter Olympics start Feb. 8, just four days after the Super Bowl. “That combination to us seems pretty epic,” said Dan Lovinger, executive vice president of advertising sales for NBC Sports Group.
The result is that NBC will package the two big events together for advertisers that want to be in both.
“The storyline for us is going to be the unbelievable reach opportunity,” Lovinger said. “We feel that we have an unprecedented opportunity to drive a message home. … Both of these properties on their own are tremendously effective. When you combine the two” they are even stronger.
This marks the first time Lovinger has sold either the Super Bowl or Olympics. He took over the ad sales job from Seth Winter last year.
Lovinger said NBC has not yet settled on a price for advertisers that want to get into next year’s Super Bowl. CBS pushed the cost of a 30-second spot to $5 million for Super Bowl 50. Earlier this month, Fox kept that $5 million rate.
“It’s way too early to see where that ends up,” Lovinger said. “We believe that game is singularly the most powerful property for an advertiser out there. We’re optimistic that the marketplace is going to step up and invest in the game at a very high level.”
