NBC Seeks $7 Million for 2026 Super Bowl Commercials in Early Ad Talks (EXCLUSIVE)

As a die-hard football fan, I can hardly contain my excitement for Super Bowl LX, which is still over a year down the line. But behind the scenes, NBCUniversal has already started their game plan to secure those coveted advertising dollars for this grand sporting spectacle.

NBCUniversal is reportedly planning to charge approximately $7 million for a 30-second commercial slot during the upcoming Big Game, based on information from media buyers and individuals privy to preliminary talks. This price tag is similar to, or even slightly higher than, Fox’s initial asking price for ad time during Super Bowl LIX, which aired in February. While Fox managed to sell some ads for an astonishing $8 million, these figures were adjusted after the network encountered more demand than expected and certain sponsors, such as State Farm, chose to exit their agreements following the California wildfires.

NBC chose not to provide their executives for an interview. It’s rumored that NBCUniversal is approaching the finish line in its negotiations with advertisers who previously worked with them during the 2022 Super Bowl. Typically, TV networks extend this exclusive opportunity to renew their contracts with past sponsors before offering ad deals to a wider range of companies on Madison Avenue.

Next year, the company’s programming strategy will be centered around major sporting events like the Super Bowl and numerous other high-profile sports events. Beginning in autumn 2025, NBC will air NBA games. In the initial quarter of 2026, they plan to broadcast the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics, and the NBA All-Star Game. There has been a great deal of interest from both buyers and executives in ad packages that encompass all three events, as discussions have revealed.

On previous occasions, NBCU has made similar proposals. In 2022, this media titan aired both the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics within the same month. As part of their strategy, NBCU has been presenting data to prospective clients, demonstrating that advertisers who only purchased ads during the Super Bowl that year missed out on approximately 42 million potential viewers from the Olympics. Conversely, those who only invested in the Olympics missed out on around 30 million viewers from the Super Bowl.

Fox Corporation announced in February that it earned approximately $800 million from advertising during Super Bowl LIX, which was aired on the Fox broadcast network, Tubi streaming service, Fox Deportes, and Telemundo Spanish-language channels. The sponsors for this event were PepsiCo, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Instacart, Stellantis, and Unilever.

Just as numerous media firms are attempting to do, NBCU is looking for an “alignment” of advertising revenues where Super Bowl sponsors would also dedicate a specific sum to various aspects of the NBCU brand, as reported by marketing specialists.

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2025-03-24 22:17