• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, January 12, 2010

In a striking move for both buyer and seller, truTV has picked up a Super Bowl spot on CBS to plug a series it is premiering the day after the game.

The Turner-owned cable network will use the platform to back "NFL Full Contact," which promises a behind-the-scenes look at the staging of NFL events. TruTV did not release how much it is paying for the spot, but it appears to be an extraordinary outlay for a cable network to back a show.

Also intriguing is TruTV's plan for the spot to serve as the most widely seen trade ad in history.

On the CBS side, the broadcaster is breaking with networks' reluctance to sell spots to competitors. Furthermore, when networks do so, they often prohibit the mention of the time when the competitive programming is running.

But if TruTV is paying $2 million-plus for the airtime, it would be hard to deny the network that opportunity. It will be able to tout "Full Contact's" premiere the day after the Super Bowl at 10 p.m.

TruTV's spot will feature Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who was in a Coke spot in last year's game. The ad, created by Grey, will run in the first half before the two-minute warning, a prime location.

TruTV has been making ratings gains and targets a male audience. General manager Marc Juris indicated in a statement that the Super Bowl spot wants to drive interest in "Full Contact," but also shows "the advertising community that truTV has emerged as a major player in television."

"Full Contact's" debut will offer a peek at staging the opening game of the 2009 season, where one story line will be about a former Secret Service agent now doing NFL security work. Other episodes explore the NFL Draft and a league game in London. NFL Films is a producer.