The Super Bowl attracts the largest television audience in the U.S. and charges the most money for a 30 second commercial. But advertisers pay a bigger premium for the Oscars.
This year, the average rate for a 30 second commercial on NBC during the New England Patriots 28-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks was $4.5 million, with a record record 114.4 million people watching the nail-biter. That works out to 25.4 viewers-per-advertising dollar.
For this Sunday's Oscars, ABC is charging an average rate of $1.95 million, and there will likely be at least 43 million folks who tune in (last year's Oscars had 43.7 million viewers, the biggest audience of any Academy Awards since 2000)--22.6 viewers-per-advertising dollar.
Thus advertisers will pay in the neighborhood of a 12% premium for the Oscars over the Super Bowl.
The premium was less last year, when the Super Bowl generated 26.7 viewers-per-advertising dollar versus 24.8 for the Oscars--a 7.7% advantage for the Academy Awards. Reason: The average cost of a 30 second commercial for the Super Bowl rose 7.1% year-over-year compared with an 11% increase in the cost for a comparable commercial during the Oscars.
Why pay more per television viewer for the Oscars? This article in USA Today says that 31.1% of viewers who watched last year's Oscars said they were more likely to buy the brand after seeing its Oscar show compared with 6.9% of viewers of the Super Bowl. Or maybe it is because the Oscars have a larger female audience than the Super Bowl (come on guys, we know who really controls the spending in our homes!)?
Either way, I'll be watching (with my wife) and rooting for American Sniper (Best Picture).
