Prices for Olympic Games Spots Mixed, Says SQAD

Commercials in NBC’s broadcast coverage of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies cost less than four year ago, but weekday primetime spots cost more, according to data from SQAD Media Costs: National (Netcosts).

The average 30-second unit in the Opening Ceremony from South Korea costs between $544,865 and $665,946, down 3% from the Sochi games.

Read More: B&C's Complete Coverage of the 2018 Winter Games

This year, for the first time, the Opening Ceremony was streamed live Friday morning, before being shown on tape in primetime on NBC.

SQAD’s figures do not include streaming, and NBC will be streaming more content than four years ago. It will also have more hours of Olympic programming on cable.

Watch B&C:10 Ways NBC Is Covering the 2018 Winter Olympics

For all of primetime, NBC is getting between $538,499 and $650,241 per 30 second spot, down1.8% from what it got for the Sochi games, according to SQAD.

On Thursday night (Feb. 8), the first day of competition in PyeongChang, overnight household ratings were down 6% from the same evening of competition in Sochi.

The price for weekday primetime spots is up 2.2% to $561,421-$676,553  from $552,316 to $558,904.

The price for weekend spots is down 0.8% to $548,213 to $646,151 in the PyeongChang games from $542,247 to $661,409

The costs to reach 1000 (CPM) household is up 30% to between $49.78 and $60.72, according to SQAD.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.