Fox television is selling digital-only advertising packages for next month’s Super Bowl for as much as $700,000 for a 30-second spot, with a 30-second TV spot to cost $5 million or more, according to Fox Sports President Eric Shanks.
Addressing reporters at a Television Critics Association meeting in Pasadena, Calif., Shanks said he expected the online audience for the Super Bowl will top last year’s, and fans can watch the game on various digital platforms for free without having to enter a password.
“The unit price we are getting for the digital stream only is as high or higher than almost all prime time programs,” he added.
According to Reuters, the Fox strategy is a departure from last year, when CBS sold commercial slots for its digital live stream only to advertisers who also purchased TV ads. The Super Bowl spectacular, on February 5, traditionally ranks as the year’s most-watched event on U.S. television. The 2016 championship game for the National Football League attracted about 112 million TV viewers, according to Nielsen data. An additional 1.4 million viewers watched on digital platforms, CBS said.
Most of this year’s Super Bowl advertisers have bought combined digital and TV packages for the game, although some have paid for TV-only or digital-only packages, said a spokesman for Fox, a unit of 21st Century Fox.
360 Degree Replay Tech to be Used in Super Bowl Coverage: Intel’s newly created 360-degree replay technology, to be used by Fox Sports in its Super Bowl coverage on February 5, enables viewers to experience the game from the player’s point of view as if they were on the field. The company says it will allow Fox broadcasters to freeze any moment of the game and focus on the play from all angles. The Intel technology uses advanced computing and high-definition cameras to create replays and highlights. For the Super Bowl, 38 cameras were installed in the Houston NRG Stadium throughout the stadium to create replays.
This story first appeared in the blog, The Sport Intern. The editor is Karl-Heinz Huba of Lorsch, Germany. He can be reached at ISMG@aol.com. The article is reprinted here with permission of Huba.