Rashee Rice #4 of the Kansas City Chiefs reacts with the NBC Sunday Night Football Player of the Game football following the win against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.
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The NFL season officially starts on Thursday, and Comcast’s NBCUniversal is already taking a victory lap.
NBCUniversal said the upcoming NFL season marks its highest grossing to-date when it comes to overall advertising and partnerships revenue. The company also said it’s already sold out of ad spots for Super Bowl LX in February.
Live sports — especially professional football — rake in the biggest audiences and therefore the most ad dollars for traditional TV and streaming platforms. Sports were once again a main component of media companies’ Upfront presentations to advertisers earlier this year.
NBCUniversal in particular began touting its upcoming sports slate earlier this year, noting the NFL and Super Bowl and the return of the NBA to NBC, as well as other major events like the Olympics.
“Coming off of the strongest sports Upfront in our company’s history, Super Bowl LX has generated extraordinary interest from brands and allowed us to sell out of our ad inventory earlier than ever,” said Peter Lazarus, executive vice president for NBC Sports & Olympics, advertising and partnerships, in a release.
The company’s broadcast network NBC and streaming platform Peacock air “Sunday Night Football,” and will each also carry Super Bowl LX. This year marks the 20th season of “Sunday Night Football” on NBC.
NBC said it’s already sold 90% of its ad inventory for “Sunday Night Football.”
This season’s kickoff matchup between reigning Super Bowl champions the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys will air Thursday on NBC.
NBC Sunday Night Football host Jac Collinsworth and Tony Dungy go over stats after the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 22, 2024 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
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NBCUniversal said it has inked more than 150 partnerships for “Sunday Night Football” programming for 2025-2026, adding nearly 40 of those partners are new. Top spenders included brands across the automotive, insurance, retail, technology and quick-service restaurant categories. NBCUniversal said it sold out of all key sponsorships for its NFL lineup, and that Toyota is sponsoring Halftime.
The Super Bowl has been breaking records on the advertising front for media companies across the board. Commercial spots for the upcoming championship game are reportedly going for $8 million per 30-second spot.
NBCUniversal said it saw high demand for Super Bowl ads in particular from consumer products, entertainment, finance and alcohol brands. The company added that there was an increase in spending on digital platforms by 20% since the last Super Bowl on NBC in 2022.
The Super Bowl that aired on Fox Corp.’s broadcast network earlier this year provided a record windfall for the company. More than 10 of its commercials sold for $8 million apiece.
Pricing for Super Bowl commercials — the top tier of advertising across TV and streaming — can often escalate by about $100,000 as remaining inventory lessens and the big game approaches. For the Super Bowl on Fox in February, the jump in price had been closer to $500,000 per spot, CNBC previously reported.
Disclosure: Comcast’s NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.
