The 2023 NFL season kicked off September 7, and sports fans and marketers are already looking ahead to next year’s Big Game, Super Bowl LVIII, set to be played at Las Vegas’s Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024. Here’s a look at what you can expect.
Ads Sell Out
Paramount Global started pitching Super Bowl LVIII to advertisers a few weeks after this year’s game wrapped up. That’s in line with recent trends that have in-game ad space selling at faster rates than the pre-pandemic norm. The game will air live on Paramount’s CBS network, which had sold 85% of its inventory by mid-August. The going rate for ads is $6.5 to $7 million per 30-second spot, which is comparable to 2023’s record prices. CBS has secured deals with several returning advertisers and signed on new ones, partnering with movie studios, telecom marketers, auto advertisers, and more.
Where to Watch
For the first time ever, the Super Bowl will be televised on two of the hosting media company’s networks. CBS will air the standard version, while Paramount’s Nickelodeon network will show a family-friendly broadcast complete with “eye-popping on-field graphics, guest reporters, virtual filters and more,” according to Paramount. What does that mean for marketers? Ad units are being sold as a single package for both networks—but brands have the option of airing different pieces of creative in the same slot, depending on the network, effectively allowing two commercials for the price of one. Yet many traditional Super Bowl advertisers aren’t child-appropriate, and Paramount says they may have to “deal with a handful of units” related to alcohol and gambling that likely can’t run on Nickelodeon. “We will figure out in time how we’re going to handle those,” said John Bogusz, executive VP of sports sales at CBS. “It’s still a work in progress.” This broadcasting experiment may be a taste of trends to come: Walt Disney is already considering a “mega-cast” format for its 2027 Super Bowl airing.
In another Super Bowl first, Hispanic media company TelevisaUnivision scored its first national NFL rights, and will air the game in Spanish, which in recent years has become a network mandate. Premium ad placements are averaging $300,000 to $400,000 per spot and will be sold by TelevisaUnivision, rather than being bundled with the network buy. CBS also plans to stream the broadcast on Paramount+, and make it available for mobile viewers on NFL+. The 2023 Super Bowl was the most streamed ever, according to Fox, averaging seven million consumers across Fox and NFL mobile and streaming platforms, compared to 115.1 million viewers on linear TV. “The largest share [of audience] is always going to come from the linear model,” said a media buyer. “But the Paramount Plus audience is important and the different access points in the NFL Plus audience on mobile…are going to lead to a larger audience overall than in the past.”
Brands of all sizes invest millions of dollars to share their stories during and around the Super Bowl to reach the largest audience on TV, and others through streaming. 90% of them depend on Extreme Reach to ensure their ads run without a hitch, partnering with ER for a range of services including Talent & Rights, Clearance, Traffic, and Delivery. Get in touch to learn more about how our teams can steward your spots through the creative supply chain for the biggest day in live TV — and every day.