Thanks to a rare harmonic convergence, NBC will be airing both the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics within days of each other. And thanks to an aggressive sales effort that spanned two years, the Peacock is expected to amass $1.4 billion in revenue.
NBC will make an estimated $500 million on Super Bowl LII on February 2 thanks to 30-second ads costing an average “north of $5 million” according to Adweek. That total includes $350 million of in-game commercials
Then when the Olympics begin on the following Friday, February 9, NBC expects to make over $900 million. And that would beat the mid-$800 million in ads it sold in 2014 for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
NBC wanted to avoid the problems Fox had for Super Bowl LI when it still had open slots with a month to go. So NBC developed strategies to prevent that from happening. NBC decided to bundle its Sunday and Thursday Night Football sales with entertainment ratings juggernauts This Is Us and Saturday Night Live.
Sales for the Olympics have been going well and the network has been able to find advertisers willing to pony up for digital-only packages which were created for the first time. Not only are these online streams, but also for Snapchat which is offering some content for its users.
NBC will rake in the cash for the month of February thanks to two big sporting events.
[Adweek]
About Ken Fang
Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.
He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.
Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.