Super Bowl Ad Prices Doubled Since 2003

When Super Bowl XLIX kicks off on February 1, the NFL championship won`t be the only title that`s on the line. With more than a hundred million viewers glued to the TV in the U.S. alone, marketers and advertisers will compete for the unofficial title “Most Memorable Super Bowl Spot”.

Since 2003, the average rate for a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl broadcast has risen from $2.15 million to $4.20 million, making it by far the most expensive time slot U.S. television has to offer – a 30-second spot during the Academy Award ceremony is less than half the price. It’s a price that brands are willing to pay though. Last year, Super Bowl TV ad spend in the U.S. amounted to $332 million, as advertising time during the broadcast increased to 49 minutes.

In return for their investment, advertisers not only get a huge audience (111.5 million viewers in 2014) but an audience that sticks around: during the 2013 Super Bowl, only 0.7 percent of the audience tuned away during commercial breaks. The average tuneaway rate during regular TV programming is five times as high. Consumers tend to pay special attention to Super Bowl ads, as agencies typically try to honour the prestigious occasion with especially witty and often funny ads.

Source: http://www.statista.com/chart/826/super-bowl-tv-advertising-in-the-united-states/