NFL Post-Season Ad Spend Up 22%

NFL post-season advertising activity -- some 12 games from the wild card, divisional round to the championship round -- rose around 22% over the year before.

National TV advertisements -- from five linear TV networks and simulcast network airings of 11 games -- totaled $624.5 million, according to EDO Ad EnGage estimates -- up from $514.0 million a year ago.

Total impressions from those 11 games were 21% higher to 37.1 billion versus a year ago (30.1 billion). One wild-card game -- between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens -- aired on Amazon Prime Video.

Ad-spend results are not included in EDO's estimates.

CBS totaled $244.33 million in advertising revenue, while Fox came in at $174.4 million, followed by NBC with $116.1 million and ABC/ESPN at $89.7 million.

The CBS airings were simulcast on Nickelodeon and on streamer Paramount+. ABC /ESPN games were also simulcast on ESPN2 and streamer ESPN+. NBC simulcast games with its streamer Peacock.

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The game with the highest viewership so far was the AFC championship game in which the Kansas City Chiefs won over the Buffalo Bills -- which came in at 57.4 million viewers on CBS, setting a new AFC game record. This was higher than viewing for the Kansas City Chiefs-Baltimore Ravens game a year ago, which had 55.5 million viewers.

Fox's airing of the game in which the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Washington Commanders posted 44.2 million viewers -- the lowest NFC Championship ratings since the game came in at 44.1 million in 2019.

The NFL's Super Bowl event continues to soar in total day pre-, game, and post-game ad revenue. Last year it was estimated Super Bowl LVIII on CBS took in $650 million, with $7 million for each 30-second commercial during the game.

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