The Super Bowl is big business for the networks, in this year’s case, Fox and by extension the region’s local Fox affiliate, WUTV.
WUTV has 14 30-second ad windows allocated during the actual game. All 14 slots are sold out. WUTV also has a Fox allocation of two minutes of local ad time/per hour during the pre-and post-game shows.
Ads in the Super Bowl are key, says Matt Low, Crowley Webb's Chief Creative Officer.
“It always goes back to one of those big things for the big players. If you're not there, then you seem like you're missing out. So it's broad appeal. Last year, there were 114 million viewers. So if you're one of those big brands that do it year in and year out, and then you're not there, it suddenly feels like you're missing the big party. It’s that sort of a brand FOMO effect. Consumers might then start saying, why aren't they in the Super Bowl when I've seen them year after year,” Low said.
The payday for WUTV could be huge, well into the six-figure range for the station.
Consider last year, CBS charged $7 million for a 30-second ad and the game drew an estimated 114 million viewers.
Two years ago, the Fox network netted $600 million in Super Bowl ad revenue.
Big business indeed, Low says…
“The fact that the commercials now are just as big as the game is something really unique to the Super Bowl. I mean, it started in the 80s when brands were making one-off commercials specific for the Super Bowl, and now it's just something that everybody has to do if you're advertising,” Low said. “I think it's not particular to me, just because I'm a creative director at an ad agency, but if a brand runs a spot that I saw a month ago and it happens in the third and fourth quarter, you think less of them, you're like, why are you doing something special for the biggest stage you're going to be on this year?”
Low predicts if the Bills make the Super Bowl, the viewership numbers locally will be record-setting.
