TV commercial prices—how ad costs have changed over the past decade

The TV landscape has changed dramatically over the past decade—and so have the dollars advertisers pay to buy ad space in top shows. Tracking the trendline for broadcast TV pricing over the years since 2014 shows the impact of network-owned streamers, whose rates of growth for ad revenues have not yet promised a replacement for what media companies earned in linear TV, as well as the momentum of live sports and the decline of linear scripted entertainment. Across the five broadcast networks historically tracked by Ad Age—ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and The CW—the median price for a 30-second ad during prime time hours declined 55% from 2014 to 2024. Of the networks tracked, the median price of primetime inventory on NBC has changed the least over the last decade, declining 47%, while the median price of inventory on Fox and The CW registered the biggest plunges, declining 82% and 83%, respectively. This year’s average unit cost for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” is the most expensive rate tracked by Ad Age’s TV Pricing Chart since 2014, averaging $1,008,746 for a 30-second ad. Overall, NFL inventory makes up the top 28 spots for the highest-priced inventory tracked by Ad Age since 2014. TV and streaming ad prices in 2024-25 Primetime TV ad prices Cost of ads on Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu TV ad cost trends over the past decade The 29th spot belongs to the 2020 unit cost for NBC’s “This Is Us,” which averaged $476,352 for a 30-second ad in its penultimate season and is the most expensive price for a scripted series in the past decade. The top-priced unit cost for an unscripted series also belongs to NBC, whose unit cost for Monday episodes of “The Voice” averaged $274,157 in 2014. In comparison, the most expensive 30-second ad in a scripted series in 2024 is for NBC’s “Chicago Fire” at $92,666, and for an unscripted show, it is ABC’s “American Idol” at $131,943. Ad Age’s surveys throughout the years were assembled using information from as many as six media-buying agencies. These numbers are meant to be viewed as directional indicators rather than as firm prices, and as such, historical comparisons should be viewed similarly. Following the trend lines of each network’s median costs in the chart above, broadcast pricing began steadily declining from 2014 to 2019 as linear viewership and pricing began declining from peaks earlier in the decade and the prologue of the streaming boom was being written. Excluding The CW, each of the broadcast networks’ median unit prices dropped below six figures in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic saw a turn in pricing but at least one media buyer notes that the resurgence was an anomaly rather than a reversal of a trend. While 2020 saw pricing remain flat to up, 2021 marked an unusually strong upfront, as many marketing categories returned to spending in TV after the year of uncertainty. The growth in pricing, shown by a lift in the median price across most networks—some of which returned to 2014 levels—plummeted in 2023 as networks began truly shifting ad dollars to streaming in force. Of note, Ad Age’s 2023 TV Pricing Chart did not track most long-running scripted programs nor a number of unscripted series, due to uncertainty related to the Hollywood strikes. However, given the 2023 median prices’ consistency with 2024 numbers, the drop last year suggests pricing returned to pre-pandemic trend lines after the brief surge in 2021 and 2022. “In the last few years, streaming has become much more of a priority for our media partners,” said the media buyer, noting that TV pricing went up during the pandemic despite linear ratings in many cases continuing to erode. And, according to the buyer, it is no coincidence that the recent plummet of primetime pricing has coincided with the launch of ad-supported tiers for the major streamers. Also: The impact of streaming TV pricing and transparency issues “Over the last few years, we’ve seen rollbacks specifically in prime time for the biggest numbers, and we’ve traded digital dollars to do that. And it works for both of us, because we want our dollars to follow the eyeballs.” Contrary to most primetime pricing trends over the past decade, the pricing for sports has risen significantly. And sports is unique in being the only category to consistently show pricing growth year-over-year (minus franchises that have changed media companies and experienced ups and downs per seller) in most cases since 2014. Live sports have become high-demand ad inventory in the streaming age, in which gathering large audiences at one time is a rarity compared to past TV eras in which networks saw high prices and live viewership for weekly premieres of top scripted series. The average unit cost for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” has grown 61% since 2014. And the cost to advertise in “Thursday Night Football” is 16% higher in 2024 on Amazon Prime Video than in 2014 when it aired on CBS. “Thursday Night Football” also represents the highest-priced inventory of the past 10 years for both Fox and CBS, when each network held the rights to the franchise. CBS’s “TNF” broadcasts in 2017 averaged $549,751, while Fox’s in 2021 averaged $635,439 for a 30-second unit, the highest rate for the franchise over the past decade. Prime Video has had “Thursday Night Football” since 2022. ABC’s 2024 coverage of “Monday Night Football” is that network’s highest-priced inventory over the past decade at $637,718. Reality TV and news programs hold an interesting middle between sports and scripted entertainment, in which reality content can still command high levels of concentrated viewing week to week. And in many cases, the changes in price reflect that, with both declining at lower rates over the past decade than scripted series. The average unit price for CBS’s “Survivor” and ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” have declined 29% and 24%, respectively, when comparing 2014 and 2024 costs. “Survivor” hit its highest unit cost over the past 10 years in 2022, at $143,996, and the decade’s peak for “Dancing with the Stars’” came in 2017, at $139,448. Despite Monday broadcasts of “The Voice” commanding the highest unscripted prices of the past decade, the ad price of the program dropped 57% when comparing 2014 and 2024 rates. However, 2024’s unit cost for Monday episodes of “The Voice,” at $118,155 on average, is notably similar to 2014 rates for “Dancing with the Stars,” which were $118,606. CBS’s news program “60 Minutes,” similar to other news programs, has maintained a level of consistency over the past decade. In 2014, a 30-second ad in the program cost $98,280 on average. In 2024, it cost $99,257. Scripted series have taken some of the biggest dips in primetime pricing over the past decade, as streaming has lent itself, in particular, to curating one’s watch lists and binging series quickly. Some of each network’s longest-running series have seen considerable dips in pricing and linear audiences. CBS’s “NCIS,” which drew an average audience of 18.34 million for the season 12 premiere in 2014 versus 6.42 million for the season 22 premiere this October, has seen the cost of a 30-second unit decline 56% when comparing the two years. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” similarly saw a 56% decline in primetime pricing. Pricing for Fox’s “The Simpsons” is 75% lower in 2024 than it was in 2014, while NBC’s “Chicago P.D.” has dipped 30% comparing the two years. TV and streaming ad prices in 2024-25 Primetime TV ad prices Cost of ads on Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu TV ad cost trends over the past decade

TV commercial prices—how ad costs have changed over the past decade

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