NBC Officially Sold Out For The Big Game

With the big game just days away, Seth Winter, exec VP-ad sales, NBC Universal News and Sports Group, said the network achieved record volume in ad dollars.

Winter told AdAge, NBC was able to maintain "premium pricing," with one 30-second spot costing about $4.5 million.

"Price was never an issue," he said. Mr. Winter said.  Still, he acknowledged it was a long road and that NBC hit a few challenges in selling commercial time in Super Bowl XLIX, which will air from Arizona on Feb. 1.

"It was a challenging ad sales marketplace, I won't diminish that," Mr. Winter said. "This hasn't been the easiest exercise I have been through."

The post-game is sold out and there are just a few spots remaining in the pre-game, Mr. Winter said.

NBC's digital stream of the big game is also sold out. Mr. Winter said NBC nearly tripled its digital ad revenue from when it last aired the game in 2012, noting it generated eight figures. There are 18 advertisers in the digital stream.

There will be 15 advertisers airing commercials during the Super Bowl for the first time this year, the highest number since 2000, which advertising experts say is a positive sign that companies are feeling good about the economic recovery.

Among the companies who are first-time advertisers this year, paying some $4.5 million for a 30-second spot, are well-known brands like Skittles and Carnival Cruise Lines, but also ones you've likely never heard of, which are hoping to make a name for themselves with their Super Bowl spots.

They include: glue maker Loctite; Mophie, which makes phone cases that hold extra batteries; and Wix.com, which hosts customizable websites.