NBCU Tops Fox for Largest Super Bowl Upfront of Decade

NBCU has already sold 85% of its in-game advertising inventory for Super Bowl LVI. It’s the largest round of sports upfront negotiations in company history, according to Adweek. 

NBCU pocketed more than $1.5 billion in total digital video ad sales this upfront, which is a 20% increase compared to 2019. The company’s streaming service, Peacock, reeled in $500 million of that total. 

NBCU surpassed Fox for the largest Super Bowl upfront of the decade. NBCU secured as much as $6 million per 30-second spot, a 9% increase compared to what CBS charged to advertise during Super Bowl LV.  

• Fox sold 78% of its in-game ad inventory in November of 2019, prior to Super Bowl LIV. Nine days later, remaining spots completely sold out.
• CBS generated roughly $545 million of in-game advertising for a total of 57 minutes, including promos, national, and local spots, according to Kantar. 

NBCU increased the asking price for in-game ads on the heels of declining NFL viewership. 

Regular-season viewership dropped 7% to 15.4 million fans for live or same-day viewers — the lowest average since 2017, according to Nielsen. February’s Super Bowl between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs recorded only 96.4 million viewers — the lowest since 2007. 

NBC signed a 10-year media rights deal with the NFL in March, paying the league $2 billion annually. 

The network will retain its “Sunday Night Football” package and hold rights to broadcast the Super Bowl in 2026, 2030, and 2034.