NFL gives broadcasters more ad time in playoff games

The National Football League is giving its broadcast partners two additional minutes of commercial inventory to sell during playoff games, the league confirmed. While more ad inventory will air in all the playoff games, which start this weekend, it does not include the Super Bowl on CBS. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news. The additional units come from converting some league and broadcaster promotional time, as well as creating more space, according to an NFL spokesperson. “Due to strong demand from the marketplace, we worked with our broadcast partners to make additional ad units available for postseason games leading up to the Super Bowl," said the spokesperson. This comes as the broadcasters continue to grapple with the effects of the pandemic, which has delayed production of new episodes of hit shows this season, resulting in further ratings erosion. The NFL also had its own challenges, including postponing games due to COVID outbreaks. And ratings took a dip as football games went up against sports that had been postponed when COVID first hit the U.S., like basketball. The NFL says the additional commercial time will not be the norm for games moving forward. This year’s playoffs will include two more games than usual after the NFL expanded the number of teams that qualify, from 12 to 14. The Super Bowl will remain unchanged, according to an NFL spokesperson. CBS still has about 10 ad units left in the Super Bowl, according to multiple media buyers. Last year, Fox added commercial time to the Super Bowl after it had sold out of ad inventory by Thanksgiving.

NFL gives broadcasters more ad time in playoff games

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