Although ratings for this year’s broadcast of the annual Oscars ceremonies fell nearly 15%, Variety reports ABC is moving toward selling out its coming 2016 broadcast of the event, and pressing potential buyers of its remaining inventory for as much as $2.2 million for a 30-second commercial in the show – a new record price.
ABC says all inventory for the Academy Awards telecast was sold out last fall at an average $2 million per 30-second spot. That’s a 10% boost from last year.
Although 30 seconds of commercial time on this year’s Oscars broadcast sold for $1.65 million to $1.8 million, demand was the strongest “in over a decade,” according to ABC.
Why Oscar Night Is So Hot With Advertisers
Viewership for the Oscars has been sliding for years, and last year’s ceremony was down nearly 4 million from the previous year. But ad pricing for the ceremony has been on the rise. Jon Swallen, SVP of research at Kantar Media explains why Oscar ad prices have risen, what it says about the economy and why the audience is so desirable.
Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger said Tuesday that the ABC network last week sold the remainder of its available advertising time — several weeks earlier than usual. ABC fetched an average of $1.7 million per 30-second spot for the 84th annual Academy Awards to be broadcast on Feb. 26, a slight uptick from last year’s rate.
ABC is asking between $1.6 million and $1.7 million for a 30-second spot on its 2012 Oscars telecast. The recent contretemps over replacing former event producer Brett Ratner and show host Eddie Murphy has little to do with the prices, which would have been established weeks ago.
Exclusives
Advertisers’ goal for the Oscars is to fuel conversations and build buzz among consumers before, during and after each utterance of “And the winner is.”
