Super Bowl LIX is around nine months away and while the 2024 NFL season hasn't started, it isn't too early to start thinking about the financial impact the media company that airs the NFL Championship game can have.
What Happened: Media giant Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)(NASDAQ:PARAA) reported television advertising up 14% year-over-year in the first quarter, which came from record modern-day viewership for Super Bowl LVIII.
The next Super Bowl, which airs on Feb. 9, 2025, will see Fox Corporation (NASDAQ:FOX)(NASDAQ:FOXA) have the rights to the game.
Fox is charging a minimum of $7 million for a 30-second Super Bowl ad, according to a new report from Variety. This marks an increase over the $6.5 million to $7 million starting point from Paramount at this same time last year.
The media company will hold its 2024 upfront event on May 13, which could see more details on pricing and package options emerge for advertisers.
In recent years, Super Bowl commercials have sold quicker than anticipated. CBS reported a sellout of its Super Bowl ad slots in November 2024, months before the big game.
Fox, which had the rights to the 2023 Super Bowl (LVII), reported 95% of its ad inventory was sold in September 2022.
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Why It's Important: The past two Super Bowls have set records for viewership and posted records for streaming audiences. This should help Fox sell its Super Bowl ad inventory regardless of the high price tag.
"We have never received the Super Bowl in this good of a shape before," Fox Corp's president of advertising sales Jeff Collins told Variety.
Fox said in 2023 that the Super Bowl helped generate $600 million for the company.
Similar to recent years of media companies having the rights to the Super Bowl, Fox is looking to get additional advertising commitments for segments like Fox Sports and the Tubi streaming platform from Super Bowl ad buyers.
The good news for Fox is that it is getting the Super Bowl back only two years after it last aired the big game, which could help provide a boost to its advertising and streaming platforms.
The bad news is under the next media rights deal, the media company now has to wait until 2029 and 2033 to get the game back.
Previously rotating between CBS, NBC and Fox, the Super Bowl is adding in coverage by ABC/ESPN, which are owned by Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) and rotating between the companies every four years.
FOX Price Action: Fox shares trade at $29.47 versus a 52-week trading range of $25.82 to $33.24.
Photo: 3D-Animation-Production-Company via Pixabay