NFL continues to show signs of recovery, at least according to national TV advertising revenue. Through 15 weeks of the regular season to date, NFL programming has pulled in $3.7 billion for its TV networks: CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN and the NFL Network, according to iSpot.tv.
The overall economy is muddling, but the tried-and-true commercial continues to draw merchandisers. Last week, companies like Viacom, CBS and Time Warner reported windfalls in television revenue, much of it from growing ad spending.
New Nielsen Co. research finds TV advertising surpassed $18 billion in the first quarter of 2011, growing almost 9% versus the same period in 2010. Also, across 12 broadcast and major cable networks in primetime, there were 5,381 major product placements in 2010, up 22% since 2006.
