Super Bowl 50 spots will hit $5M per 30 seconds

ByDarren Rovell ESPN logo
Wednesday, August 5, 2015

CBS will hit the $5 million mark for a 30-second ad during its broadcast of Super Bowl 50, network president and chief executive Leslie Moonves said Wednesday on the company's earnings call.

The price would represent an 11 percent increase over the base price that NBC charged for Super Bowl XLIX last year of $4.5 million.

Adjusting for inflation, a 30-second ad passed the $1 million mark in 1985, the $2 million mark in 1998, and the $3 million mark in 2008. A spot was $4 million by Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014.

One would think the cost would affect Anheuser Busch the most. The beer company has been the exclusive beer advertiser of the Super Bowl since 1989, and the company typically buys the most spots. Because of this, however, Anheuser Busch doesn't pay the same price that other advertisers who buy one ad pay.

The cost of an ad for Super Bowl I in 1967 was $37,500, which is equal to $268,000 today. Just two seconds of ad time for Super Bowl 50 will cost more than $333,000.

Super Bowl XLIX between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks was the most watched television broadcast in U.S. history, with 114.4 million people watching, according to Nielsen.

Super Bowl 50 will take place at Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, on Feb. 7, 2016.