Ahead of Thursday’s kickoff of Season 20 of Sunday Night Football, NBCUniversal says ad inventory for next February’s Super Bowl and 90% of all NFL spots are already sold out.
Ad revenue for all NFL telecasts on NBCU linear and streaming platforms has already hit a new high, the company said Wednesday, though it did not provide a figure. According to estimates from EDO Ad EnGage, SNF took in $995.7 million in 2024, up 5% over the prior year.
NBCU has surrounded NFL games with other valuable sports programming, including the NBA, which is starting a new long-term deal next month, and the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. During a 17-day span next February, NBCU will air the Super Bowl, the Winter Games and the NBA All-Star Game.
Flagship streaming service Peacock is also a key element in the company’s sales pitch as dollars continue to migrate from linear TV to streaming. The company’s announcement said overall digital investments by advertisers rose 20% over the previous Super Bowl carried by NBCU in 2022. Peacock’s subscriber base stayed flat at 41 million in the most recent quarter as its losses narrowed to $101 million. Rival streamers like HBO Max and Disney+ have become profitable. Along with traction with advertisers, NBCU is also phasing in a $3-a-month price hike, which should help the company achieve profitability in the near term.
Along with Peacock and the NBC broadcast network, NBCU will also air the Spanish-language game coverage on Telemundo.
“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, EVP NBC Sports & Olympics Advertising and Partnerships. “With a monumental year ahead, we are proud of the incredible momentum thus far and are excited to offer both fans and brands an unrivaled slate of sports programming starting with NFL kick off.”
As far as Super Bowl LX (No. 60 for those less fluent in Roman numerals), the top categories for overall investment were consumer packaged goods, entertainment, finance and alcohol. CPG, pharma, entertainment and QSR recorded the most notable increases in spending.
During its 20th season, SNF will feature 150 brands, 40 of which are new to the franchise. Core categories continue to be auto, insurance, retail, tech and quick-serve restaurants, while pharma, finance and tech stepped up with the biggest year-over-year increases.
Next spring and summer, NBCU will be plugging sports highlights like the return of the WNBA; the NBA playoffs; and Telemundo’s coverage of the 2026 World Cup, which is being held in North America for the first time in more than three decades.
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