NBC has fetched a record $6.5 million for Super Bowl ads and has nearly sold out of slots for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
That’s according to a company executive on Wednesday.
Dan Lovinger, executive vice president of advertising sales at NBC Sports Group, told reporters there were few ad units left for the Super Bowl and the company was purposely holding back slots.
NBC is also almost sold out for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Both events takes place next February.
It’s the first time the Olympics have had such proximity to the Super Bowl.
The price of the slots mark an 18% increase over what CBS charged for Super Bowl ads this year.
The numbers show how live sporting events continue to be a big draw for advertisers, despite declines in TV audiences.
U.S. viewership for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo dropped to about half the audience for the London Games in 2012.
February’s Super Bowl broadcast on CBS attracted about 92 million viewers, the lowest TV audience since 2006.