As the medal counts get underway in earnest, it's also time to take stock of how the Olympics' TV advertising is playing out. And not every big spender is getting the same amount of eyeballs.
Halfway through the Olympics, 351 brands have run 667 unique TV ads a total of 7,867 times, 1,488 of them in primetime, according to data from iSpot.tv. That's spanning NBC and its NBC Universal siblings NBC Sports, USA Network, BRAVO, MSNBC and CNBC.
By analyzing ads appearing on the screens of 11 million smart TV sets, iSpot.tv estimates that NBCU has already delivered more 7.7 billion TV ad impressions in the U.S. The games are providing solid retention for advertisers too, with ads viewed to completion an average of 90% of the time and 97.4% of all ads getting viewed live or same day.
Of those TV ad impressions, auto makers can claim 1.128 billion, insurance marketers 518 million, movie studios 431.7 million and credit card companies 351 million. NBCU is giving its share of promo time to shows such as "Timeless," "This is Us" and "Sunday Night Football," each with trailers appearing on screens more 120 million times thus far.
Excluding show promos, no single ad has seen more action than this Visa Carpool ad, which has registered on TV screens 140.9 million times.
Though you may also be getting tired of this Chevy ad touting the Malibu, Camaro and Equinox, given the 120 million impressions it has registered in 7 days.
Here are the top five brands receiving the most screen time the first week of the Olympics:
No. 1. BMW, with an estimated spend of $18 million, has run 10 different creatives 113 times for 262 million TV ad impressions. The brand's future-themed ads have held viewers' attention, with a completion rate of 89%.
Most-seen ad: The Ultimate Driving Machine.
No. 2. Visa, with an estimated spend of $12.2 million, has had 214 million TV ad impressions through 6 ads running 115 times. The Team USA-themed ads have done an excellent job of retaining attention, averaging a view rate of 94.91%.
Most seen ad: The Carpool to Rio (ft. Missy Franklin, Kerri Walsh Jennings)
No. 3. Chevrolet, with estimated spending at $16.5 million, has generated just over 201.2 million TV ad impressions. Through 6 spots running 104 times, the brand is averaging a completion rate of 85%.
Most-seen ad: Up: Camaro, Equinox, Malibu, Silverado HD
#4. Samsung, with a $13.8 million estimated spend, has generated almost 189 million impressions across 79 airings of 4 TV ads. The ads' view rate: 90%.
Most-seen ad: More Everything (ft. Song by Louis Armstrong)
#5. Geico, with $15.5 million in estimated spend, closes out our top 5 most-seen brands, generating 172,578,435 TV ad impressions on the back of 6 ads that ran 263 times. GEICO's ads are performing on par with the rest of the Olympic ads, averaging a 90.7% view rate.
Most-seen ad: Butt Dial: It's What You Do