Super Bowl Advertising 2011 - the Networks and the Audience

SUPERBOWL ADVERTISING:

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE MONEY, AND THE BENEFITS

By Ashley Jumpp

Part A

The Networks and the Audience

There are only three networks that are licensed to show the Super Bowl game. The license is included in the overall package for the NFL season. The broadcast networks that are licensed to show the Super Bowl game are, NBC, CBS, and Fox Network. These three network conglomerates, along with other smaller stations, have seen their overall audience number recede, but conversely, the number of National Football League viewers has risen as the interest in football has grown.

National Football League games averaged 17.9 million viewers during the regular season. This number is, up nearly a quarter from 2006, according to Nielsen Co. And last weekend, the close matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Jets was seen by 54.8 million people, the fourth-largest audience for an NFL conference championship since Nielsen started tracking viewers. (Schechner & Steel, 2011)

Although rating predictions aren't clear. Last year, the New Orleans-Indianapolis matchup set an all-time TV record in the U.S., with 106.5 million viewers. The two teams meeting at Cowboys Stadium on Sunday have large national followings, a factor that is more important than the size of their home city in predicting Super Bowl ratings, analysts say. (Schechner & Steel, 2011)

The $$$$ (Money), the Advertisers, and the Benefits

Years ago, the purchase of a commercial during the Super Bowl game was accompanied by a little publicity and promotion. That changed with the rise of the Internet as an ad medium as sponsors started supplementing Super Bowl buys in ways that included special Web sites, video clips and search-engine marketing. (Elliot, 2010).

Each of the three networks are offering a 30-second airtime spot during the Super Bowl for between $2.5 million to $3 million depending on placement within the game time and the overall marketing package, including pre-game and post-game showings. Marketers are willing to pay that amount because the spots offer a mass audience that is hard to duplicate as the TV audience overall continues to fragment among various channels and screens. (Schechner & Steel, 2011)

The top five Super Bowl advertisers of the past 10 years have spent $592 million on advertising during the game, accounting for 36 percent of total advertising revenue. Anheuser-Busch InBev and Pepsico lead the pack, followed by Walt Disney,