• Variety, Monday, July 9, 2007 10:56 AM

Ad time in NFL games on CBS, Fox, NBC and ESPN is selling briskly this year, with as much as 75% apt to be sold by the end of next month -- at average price increases in the high single digits.

Demand is particularly strong from automakers, telcos, financial services, beer companies, restaurants and film studios. "Last year at this time, there was a lot of skepticism in the marketplace, a wait-and-see attitude" says Seth Winter, senior vice president of NBC Sports. "Buyers were worried that football fatigue would set in by the time NBC came on the air in prime time."

But fears that fans would be burned out by Fox and CBS afternoon doubleheaders turned out to be unfounded. NBC Sunday ratings in 2006 were strong. Indeed, all four showed gains in total viewers for NFL games last year.

Read the whole story at Variety »