The Business Side of the Superbowl

In the past twenty years, the Superbowl has been equally anticipated for its commercials, not just the game itself. In these past twenty years, there have been nearly twelve full hours of commercials during the Superbowl, adding up to $1.5 Billion, states TNS Media Intelligence. Although twelve hours may not seem like much accumulated over twenty years, there has been a significant increase in the amount of commercial time broad-casted during the "Big Game." In this same time period, the cost of a 30 second commercial has quadrupled. This year, it is expected that a 30 second commercial will cost between $2.5 and $2.7 million. Obviously, these companies think it is definitely well worth the money to air these commercials year after year. Companies like Anheuser Busch have had ads every year, spending hundreds of millions of dollars. These are commercials that come to mind when we think about Superbowl commercials, like beer and car commercials. However, most people don't realize that the network hosting the game uses about one fourth of the allotted commercial time for their own advertising. According to TNS, this time is worth an estimated $46 million. In addition to this, companies work hand in hand with the Internet to create double advertising and thus double the amount of revenue. Last year, viewers rushed to the web throughout the game and especially afterwards. GoDaddy.com received the most views, due to their promiscuous commercials featuring gorgeous models, and their website URL. Viewers had no clue what the company was until they viewed the site, which is why so many people visited it. Schemes like these are what makes Superbowl advertising worth every penny. The Superbowl is a money making machine, and with over $140 million viewers expected, it will continue to grow in revenue again this Sunday. Every year, the Superbowl isn't just the game broadcasting, it is everything shown on t.v. between the opening kickoff and final celebration.