• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, November 14, 2007

The whistle has just about blown on sales for the Super Bowl with only two spots remaining, a person with knowledge of the situation said. The near-sellout on Fox comes well in advance of the Feb. 3 broadcast.

The last two 30-second spots are in the fourth quarter, the source said. Total inventory for the game is the equivalent of 63 30-second units--although some advertisers, of course, run 60-second spots.

A Fox representative did not provide comment.

Word of the near-close came as the CEO of Fox parent News Corp., Rupert Murdoch, said Tuesday the company has "just completed" its business. Murdoch said pricing was "phenomenal" and the network drew "certainly record advertising rates." The executive spoke Tuesday at a shareholder event in Australia.

Even after a sellout, if demand remains high, Fox could offer to buy advertisers out or offer them an attractive package elsewhere in an attempt to reclaim their inventory--then re-sell it at a higher price. But it's unlikely that a strongly committed advertiser would cede a spot, unless its economic conditions suddenly worsen.

One possible reason the game could have sold out at such a rapid pace is potential advertiser fear that the ongoing Hollywood writers' strike could hinder the availability of premium inventory early next year, particularly among movie studios.

Whatever the reason, sales sped along faster than previous years. It's unclear exactly how many spots sold for the $2.7 figure Murdoch cited last week.

Seemingly, networks bandy about a price each year that's $100,000 higher than the one widely circulated the year before. Last time, the figure floated was $2.6 million; in 2006, it was $2.5 million; and it was $2.4 million the last time Fox had the game.