Commentary
65 Hours of Hoops Nets Big Ad Dollars
- by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, March 31, 2009
Over the past 10 years (1999-2008), advertising during the Tournament has translated into $4.2 billion of network TV spending from nearly 300 different marketers. In 2008, ad spending reached an all-time high of $643 million, a 24 percent increase from the prior year.
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Network TV Advertising ($ in Millions) | |||||||||||
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | Total |
Spend ($ millions) | $270 | 319 | 318 | 358 | 380 | 451 | 475 | 500 | 520 | 643 | 4,234 |
Number of Advertisers | 83 | 75 | 113 | 125 | 95 | 99 | 92 | 104 | 126 | 102 | 291 |
Source: TNS Media Intelligence, March 2009 | |||||||||||
Dean DeBiase, CEO, TNS Media "As a sports marketing event, the collegiate basketball tournament is part of a Final Four alongside the Super Bowl and the Summer and Winter Olympics... leveraged correctly, this is a great vehicle for traditional powerhouses and Cinderella brands alike."
The post-season NCAA Tournament brings in more national TV ad revenue than the post-season playoffs for professional baseball, professional basketball or college football. Only the National Football League playoffs, which includes the Super Bowl, is more lucrative.
2008 Post-Season Sports National TV Ad Spend ($ millions) | |
Sport | Ad Spend (Million $) |
Pro Football (Jan-Feb ‘08) | $748 |
NCAA Men's Basketball (Mar-Apr '08) | 643 |
Pro Basketball (Apr-Jun ‘08) | 330 |
Pro Baseball (Oct ‘08) | 326 |
College Football Bowls (Dec '07-Jan ‘08) | 250 |
Source: TNS Media Intelligence, March 2009 (Pre-Game, Game & Post-Game Programming) | |
Among the major televised sporting championships, only the Super Bowl commands a higher advertising unit rate than the NCAA Men's Basketball championship game. College hoops has higher unit ad pricing than the major college football bowl games; the NBA championship; and the MLB World Series. In terms of cost-per-thousand viewers, the NCAA Final Four games are far more expensive than any of the other annual blue-chip sporting events.
Average Network TV Ad Pricing for Major Sporting Events | ||
Tournament | Avg :30 Rate ($000) | Estimated CPM (HHs) |
NCAA Men's Division 1 Basketball Tournament (2008) | ||
Championship Game | 1,241 | $93 |
Semi-Final Games | 800 | $75 |
National Football League (2008) | ||
Super Bowl | 2,700 | $55 |
AFC & NFC Championship Games | 1,080 | $34 |
Other Events (2008) | ||
College Football - BCS Championship Game | 900 | $56 |
College Football - BCS Bowl Games | 510 | $55 |
MLB World Series | 400 | $42 |
NBA Championship Series | 341 | $32 |
Source: TNS Media Intelligence, March 2009 | ||
General Motors, AT&T and Coca Cola have consistently been the leading TV advertisers and in 2008, they spent a combined $140.6 million and accounted for 22 percent of the total ad revenue. Although GM bowed out of both the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards earlier this year, its participation with March Madness continues.
Top 10 TV Advertisers NCAA Men's Division 1 Basketball Tournament 2008 | ||
Rank | Company | 2008 Ad Spend ($ Millions) |
1 | General Motors Corp | $79.7 |
2 | AT&T Inc | 35.1 |
3 | Coca-Cola Co | 25.8 |
4 | Anheuser-Busch InBev | 22 |
5 | Lowes Cos Inc | 21.9 |
6 | Nike Inc | 21.7 |
7 | US Government | 21.2 |
8 | SABMiller Plc | 20.8 |
9 | State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance | 15.0 |
10 | Daimler Ag | 13.6 |
Source: TNS Media Intelligence, March 2009 (Network TV only and include all pre-game, game and post-game programming) | ||
Online viewership is heavily concentrated in the first two rounds of the tournament when multiple games are taking place simultaneously and fans are seeking the flexibility to view the action from out-of-home locations or watch games not being telecast on their local CBS affiliate. Though growing rapidly from a small base, the digital ad revenue is still a fraction of that generated by the traditional TV broadcasts.
NCAA Men's Division 1 Basketball Tournament: Offline vs. Online Ad Revenue | |||
| Ad Revenue in $ Millions | ||
Year | Total | CBS TV Broadcasts | CBS Internet On Demand |
2006 | $504 | $500 | $4 |
2007 | $529 | $520 | $9 |
2008 | $666 | $643 | $23 |
Sources: TV revenue estimates from TNS Media Intelligence, March 2009; On Demand ad revenue estimates from CBS | |||
For more about TNS and the Kantar Group, please visit here.
Jack Loechner is the Editor of The Center for Media Research's daily Research Brief. You can reach him at jack@mediapost.com.