US network NBC is predicting advertising revenue of close to $1.4bn (€1.17bn) from next month’s broadcasts of the Super Bowl, the showpiece game of the NFL American football league, and the 2018 winter Olympic Games.
Broadcast of the NFL’s championship game is traditionally rotated between three of the United States’ major networks, with NBC covering this year’s encounter at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on February 4.
Fox pulled in around $500m in advertising revenue from its coverage of last year’s game and Dan Lovinger, executive vice-president of advertising sales for NBC Sports Group, disclosed that NBC is expecting similar figures.
Lovinger said that fewer than 10 spots, at a cost in excess of $5m apiece for 30 seconds ad time, remain available for the Super Bowl.
He said, according to the Deadline website: “The value of live is evident. We see that in all of our sports. What’s also incredibly valuable is big ratings. … Advertisers do clamour for those opportunities. The Super Bowl is communal viewing and there’s social amplification that goes on.”
NBC had previously forecast revenue in excess of $1bn from the Super Bowl and the Olympics, which take place in Pyeongchang, South Korea from February 9-25.