In the immediate aftermath of this year’s Super Bowl LIII, “disappointment” was a word you heard a lot. With the NFC’s top scoring offense on one sideline and a future unanimous hall of fame quarterback on the other – most casual fans were disappointed the game produced just one touchdown in a 13-3 contest. By coming two weeks after what was arguably the most exciting conference championship weekend in the NFL’s history – CBS’ Super Bowl LIII felt especially dry.
From a business angle, it’s tough to argue that “disappointment” wasn’t tossed around in conversations with advertising and network executives in the days following the game. According to a study published by MediaPost.com, the in-game advertising revenue reached $382 million – which was a noticeable drop from the previous season’s $408 million and a much bigger slide from 2017’s $419 million.
This week, CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus shed some light on his Network’s Super Bowl bottom line.
According to a tweet from Mark Burns of Morning Consult – CBS counted roughly $20 million in digital ad revenue following the game. This may seem a like a solid sum, but it’s dwarfed by the nearly $400M CBS earned on it’s “traditional” linear broadcast.
Ten years ago, judging a network’s total revenue was a much simpler process. You would simply need to take the value of a 30 second ad (roughly $5.25 million this year) and factor that number into every slot that ran during the game. In recent years, however, with more and more households choosing streaming options, the industry is still trying to find reliable ways to generate digital revenue, let alone tally it all up.
There’s no doubt the industry is changing to accommodate how sports fans consume content, and everyone seems to be investing more and more into their digital platforms. With that said, if these numbers are even close to accurate, it’s clear that TV is still king.
