NBC Sells Out Super Bowl Ad Inventory, Hits Record $7M For Spots

NBCUniversal has sold out all ad inventory for its NBC, Telemundo and Peacock platforms for Super Bowl LVI between the Bengals and Rams.

According to Deadline, NBCUniversal sold several 30-second spots for $7 million, a new Super Bowl record.

"After a year of partly-filled stadiums and Covid tentativeness ahead of vaccine rollouts, the climate for last year’s game was decidedly different than this year’s edition, which will be held on February 13," the outlet reports. "CBS got about $5.5 million for 30 seconds of air time in 2021, in line with Fox the year before. Comparisons are inexact, however, as ads this year will run across broadcast, streaming and the first-ever Spanish-language network broadcast on Telemundo."

More than 30 advertisers will appear on the Super Bowl broadcast for the first time ever.

While ratings for the NFL playoffs have hit multi-year highs, that does not guarantee the ratings for the Super Bowl will continue to trend. Recent history says that Super Bowl ratings rise and fall based solely on how close the game is near the fourth quarter.

For example, last year's Chiefs-Bucs game, billed as Brady versus Mahomes, had great hype. Yet the matchup, with a final score of 31-9, drew only 91 million viewers, down 10 million from the previous season. However, Super Bowl LI in 2017, when the Patriots came back to win against the Falcons in overtime, averaged 111 million viewers.

So for the sake of the ratings, let's hope the Bengals' offensive line can hold up against the Rams' pass rush.