SUPER BOWL: $6.5 Million Commercials

The NFL returned to higher-than-expected ratings.

Thursday night’s kickoff game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys attracted more than 26 million viewers. The audience was the biggest for a TV program since February’s Super Bowl.

NBC has sold all but five commercial slots for Super Bowl 56. Ad agencies are in a bidding war to buy time above list price. Sponsors are paying as much as $6.5 million for 30-second commercial time.

Compare that cost to a CBS Sunday afternoon game. The networks charged $700,000 per 30-seconds for yesterday’s contest between the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs. (Variety)