By Sam Mamudi
NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- Regardless of who triumphs in this
year's Super Bowl, the night's biggest winner could well be
broadcaster NBC Universal.
Last year's game, broadcast over the Fox network, was the
most-watched program in U.S. television history and saw advertisers
spend $228 million. It's likely this year's audience will be of a
comparable size, adding to the cumulative $1.72 billion that
advertisers have spent on Super Bowls over the past 10 years.
Last year's revenue was up from $205 million in 2010 and $213
million in 2009, according to a study released Tuesday by Kantar
Media. By contrast, the five-game World Series in 2010 brought in
$191 million, while last season's seven-game Series saw $269
million in TV ad spend.
For all the revenue the National Football League's championship
game generates, it's notable that more than a third of the ad spend
in the past decade has come from just five companies:
Anheuser-Busch InBev (AHBIY) ($239 million), Pepsico Inc. (PEP)
($174 million), General Motors Co. (GM) ($83 million), Walt Disney
Co. (DIS) ($74 million) and Coca-Cola Co. (KO) ($67 million).
"You have this handful of advertisers in the game year after
year, buying several minutes of ad time," said Jon Swallen, senior
vice president of research at Kantar Media. "Clearly they think
that it's worth it."
That cost is higher than ever, with Sports Business Journal
reporting that NBC (CMCSA) (CMCSK) was averaging $3.5 million for a
30-second ad spot for this year's game, on Feb. 5. Some spots even
reached $4 million, it said.
By comparison, Fox (NWSA) (NWS) earned about $3 million for each
spot for last year's game, which drew 111 million viewers. (The Fox
network is owned by News Corp., also the owner of the publisher of
this newswire.)
This year's game may or may not reach that high, though ratings
for the playoffs so far suggest an even bigger audience could
indeed be in the cards.
The past weekend's games were the most-watched NFL divisional
playoff round ever, with the four match-ups averaging 36.6 million
viewers, up from last year's record 35.1 million. The New York
Giants game at the Green Bay Packers averaged 45.1 million viewers
-- a record for a divisional playoff game, and the most-watched TV
program since the Super Bowl.
Water-cooler potential
Despite the water-cooler potential of any Super Bowl ad, Swallen
said the biggest spenders are simply looking for the best and
biggest reach for their branding.
"Those five companies are all mass-market advertisers who
advertise during football through the year; they're going for the
big audience and core demographics," said Swallen.
Anheuser-Busch's Super Bowl spending in the past 10 years
accounts for only 4.5% of its media advertising in that period,
while Pepsi's $174 million is just 2.1% of its total spending,
added Swallen.
There are, of course, companies that advertise during the game
looking for their water-cooler moment, hoping an ad will bring
outsized exposure: Close to one-third of advertisers spend more
than 10% of their budgets on the Super Bowl.
Kantar estimated that last year, for example,
Careerbuilder.com's total ad spend was $9.8 million, $3.1 million
of which it spent during the Super Bowl. The CareerBuilder jobs
site is jointly owned by Gannett Co. (GCI) , McClatchy Co. (MNI)
and Tribune Co.
"For companies like that, Super Bowl advertising is about
looking for their turn in the spotlight," said Swallen.
-Sam Mamudi; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com