Insights Weekly Update (2/4/2022)

February 4, 2022

Happy Friday!

Insights is back this week with an updated Deal Tracker and Heat Check on the evolving Super Bowl ad market, including the most expensive 30-second placements to date. If you have any comments or suggestions, please reach out to me at liam@fos.company.

Super Bowl Ad Market Examined

Design: Alex Brooks

The Super Bowl is now only one week away and the stakes are larger than ever for advertisers. According to a report from Variety, the cost of a Super Bowl ad next week are going for as much as $7 million for a 30 second spot. Anything above $6 million would represent the largest ad spot of the kind to date.

In 2021, the going rate from CBS for a 30-second spot in Super Bowl LV went for an estimated $5.5 million with all slots being sold out in late January of that year. The event generated around $484.7 million in ad revenue from 42 minutes of advertising, according to ad spending tracker Kantar.

In a recent statement, NBC announced that it had sold out of its inventory and suggested that advertisers’ interest in the Super Bowl was higher than anticipated as viewership for recent playoff games surged. With the AFC and NFC championships respective viewership near or at all-time highs, the stage has been set for record total expenditure on ads.

One of the reasons why we are seeing such a premium for ad spots this year is the entrance of various advertisers into the space. Companies such as FTX, Hologic, and Wallbox. These companies don’t have the existing relationships with NBC or other networks that would allow them to carve out a sizeable discount. Rookie advertisers have, for the most part, never spent meaningful portions of their budgets on media. According to NBC, this year’s slate of advertisers will have 30 new entrants representing 40% of total participants. That is up from 22 first-time advertisers in 2021 and only 7 newbies in 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Our Heat Check this week examines just how the money behind the Super Bowl ads have moved historically. We break down:

Historical ad spend
Trends in viewership and related population growth
New advertisers

The report also provides case studies on how legacy brands can and have moved away from traditional TV ads and instead opted to move toward social campaigns.

Check out the full report here.

ICYMI: Last month, we published a new Heat Check on DAOs and their applications. You can access that report and our entire catalog of research at Insights HQ.

Deal Tracker

The WNBA Crosses $1 Billion in Valuation after New Round of Investment

Insights Deal Tracker Highlights This Week:

Bungie, the developer of video games intended to offer shooting and other online sports, was acquired by Sony for a reported $3.6 billion.
Future, the developer of a personal training app designed to connect members with an ongoing high-level fitness coach, raised $75 million in Series C funding in a round led by Trustbridge Partners and SC.Holdings.
The WNBA, the owner and operator of the predominant professional women’s basketball league, raised $75 million in development capital from Nike, Condoleezza Rice, Laurene Powell Jobs, and Pau Gasol among others.
Metafy, Developer of an e-learning platform designed to provide esports education, raised $25 million of Series A funding from Tiger Global and Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six capital.
RUN.EDGE, the Tokyo based developer of a sports video analysis technology designed to turn sports scenes from video analysis into new user experiences, raised $6.7 million from Asics Ventures in later stage VC funding.

Try out the full Deal Tracker.

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Written by Liam Killingstad