Fox Sports Looking For $5M+ Per Super Bowl :30

Fox Sports is seeking more than $5 million for a 30-second commercial in its 2017 broadcast of Super Bowl LI, which Variety reports is a level that would raise the price tag for ad inventory in what is usually the nation’s most-watched annual TV event into the stratosphere.

Other networks may have secured $5 million for a few commercials in the gridiron classic, but if Fox has its way, each ad in the game will fetch the princely sum – and possibly more.

In 2014, NBC made a bid to sell Super Bowl commercials at $4.5 million a pop, a 12.5% hike from what Fox had sought in the year prior, and worked until just a few days before its 2015 broadcast of Super Bowl XLIX to sell out its inventory.  CBS fared better in 2015 when it sought at least $4.5 million to $4.7 million for a 30-second spot (and more in some cases) for this year’s Super Bowl 50, though it kept the till open in case of last-minute interest.

Marketers flock to the Super Bowl to get a pitch in front of the outsize audience the event attracts, but in recent years, they have taken more time to join the ad roster, rather than rushing in full-bore.

In early talks, Fox Sports has sought between $5 million and $5.5 million for a 30-second commercial slot, according to one of the people familiar with the pace of negotiations. The costs would include the ads appearing in Fox’s live stream of the game, according to one of the people with knowledge of the discussions.

Fox Sports has also sought to have Super Bowl clients spend a similar amount to run ads across the company’s media portfolio, a tactic that is not uncommon in these kinds of talks. That means a single advertiser could end up paying $10 million or more for the chance to appear in the event.