The Super Bowl is big business.
Super Bowl LVIII etched its name in the annals of history as the longest Super Bowl ever played, spanning nearly a full five quarters. Consequently, it comes as little surprise that CBS, the broadcaster for the event, reaped substantial financial gains from the flood of commercials.
As reported by Anthony Crupi of Sportico, CBS is estimated to have amassed a staggering $635 million from advertisements aired during the first four quarters alone. This windfall surged further with the addition of an extra $60 million generated during the overtime period, which extended the game by another 14 minutes and 57 seconds of playtime, accompanied by more commercial breaks.
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“While CBS did not comment on how much extra loot it generated during the bonus period, the high volume of spots is believed to have translated into a $60 million premium. That’s in addition to the estimated $635 million in standard commercial time CBS sold in the lead-up to Sunday night’s game. No matter how you slice it, CBS notched an all-time record for Super Bowl sales.”
According to the report, CBS augmented its financial gains during overtime by offering “contingency slots” at discounted rates. The prolonged overtime period enabled CBS to air an additional 10 advertisements.
Notably, a single company, GroupM, seized the opportunity to secure three out of the four overtime advertising slots. GroupM strategically acquired commercial slots for the encore presentation of Discover’s ad featuring Jennifer Coolidge, as well as teasers for Universal’s films “Monkey Man” and “Kung Fu Panda 4.”
Given the close nature of the game and potential rule adjustments that could lead to more postseason overtime matches in the future, it’s plausible that we’ll witness a surge in spending on overtime Super Bowl ad buys in the years to come.
