Fox Sells 80% of Super Bowl Avails in Upfront, CW Wraps

Although it’ll be a good three months before the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings kick off the 2010-11 National Football League season, Fox has already sold a significant chunk of its most valuable pigskin inventory. According to a number of industry sources, the broadcaster has moved a whopping 80 percent of the available spots during its Super Bowl XLV broadcast.While exact pricing figures were unavailable, Fox is believed to have commanded rates above and beyond CBS’ year-ago rate of $2.5 million to $2.8 million per 30-second spot.The bulk of the Super Bowl deals were hashed out over the last few weeks, as Jon Nesvig, president of sales for Fox Broadcasting, responded to a flurry of interest from automotive clients. On May 17, prior to Fox’s New York upfront presentation, Nesvig told reporters that he had secured a few preliminary agreements to get clients in the big game.“It’s a good predictor of prime time,” Nesvig said, anticipating a strong upfront marketplace. Last year, CBS sold around 39 minutes of Super Bowl air time, for a total haul of $213 million.Various industry sources estimated that Fox was able to command CPM hikes between 8.5 and 9 percent over last year’s pricing, an improvement that contributed to an overall volume increase of about 20 percent. All told, Fox is believed to have brought in anywhere from $1.8 billion to $1.9 billion in prime-time commitments, in what will go on the books as the second most-lucrative upfront in the network’s 24-year history.All told, Fox moved roughly 80 percent of its available inventory, in line with historical sell-through numbers. (Hampered by the recession, last year’s bazaar was an anomaly; per analyst estimates, Fox sold closer to 70 percent of its airtime during the 2009-10 upfront.)Fox set the market, capping CPM premiums at 9 percent. That said, CBS and ABC are looking for deals pegged to similar increases, while NBC is said to be chasing 7 percent pricing hikes.On Friday, the CW joined Fox in the clubhouse, having raised upfront sales of around $350 million, on CPM increases in the neighborhood of 7.5 percent over the 2009-10 bazaar. All told, the CW is believed to have moved between 70-75 percent of its avails.Rob Tuck, CW's exec vp of national sales, said demand was strong in all target categories, including: health/beauty, retail, auto and wireless. Tuck indicated that “the vast majority” of CW clients invested in converged media buys.

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Fox Sells 80% of Super Bowl Avails in Upfront, CW Wraps

Anthony Crupi

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Anthony Crupi