Report: Record prices revealed for Super Bowl LIX commercials despite ratings dip

Through the 2024 regular season and postseason, the NFL saw its ratings dip. That hasn’t stopped record prices coming in for Super Bowl LIX commercials, though.

FOX sold more than 12 spots at $8 million per 30-second unit, Front Office Sports’ Eric Fisher reported. That’s up from last year’s commercials, which were around $7 million per unit for the second straight Super Bowl.

FOX was originally looking for $7 million for each spot, but CNN’s Brian Stelter reported demand skyrocketed. As a result, at least 10 spots went for more than $8 million.

The NFL remained king this year from a TV ratings perspective, although numbers decreased slightly. During the 2024 regular season, viewership dropped about 2% from 2023 with an average of 17.5 million viewers per game, FOS reported.

That trend continued into the postseason. Wild Card Round and Divisional Round ratings were both down, and FOX saw a stark decrease in viewership for the NFC Championship with 44.7 million people tuning in for the Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Commanders matchup. That came after 55.7 million watched last year’s AFC title game – a high-water mark that fell last week when the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Buffalo Bills on CBS.

Still, huge ratings are expected once again for this year’s Super Bowl. Last year’s game between the Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers averaged 123.7 million viewers on CBS, which was a 7% increase from the previous year’s matchup between Kansas City and Philadelphia. Super Bowl LIX could continue that upward trajectory.

That’s another reason FOX is earning so much from commercial revenue. It has been the case for months, too. FOX CEO and executive chair Lachlan Murdoch previously pointed out the “record pricing” for ad spots during the Big Game.

“We still have a pretty robust football calendar yet to come, culminating with our broadcast of Super Bowl LIX, where we are already sold out and at record pricing,” Murdoch said in November.

The Chiefs, led once again by Patrick Mahomes as well as a staunch defense, are looking to win an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl – something no team has ever done. That road runs through the Eagles in a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, although the offense has a new dimension this time around. Saquon Barkley has been nothing short of dominant this season, and Kansas City will have to slow him down if it wants to bring home a third consecutive title.