CBS Sports And Turner Sell Out NCAA March Madness Ad Inventory, At Near-Double-Digit Rate Increase Over 2021

deadline.com:

CBS Sports and Turner have sold out virtually all ad inventory for the upcoming NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, punctuating a turnaround for the marquee event after two compromised Covid seasons.The average price of a 30-second spot during the three-week tournament has posted “close to double-digit increases” over 2021 rates, John Bogusz, EVP of ad sales for CBS Sports, said during a media conference call.

Early games fetch a few hundred thousand dollars, with that figure rising past $2 million for spots during the title game, according to Bogusz’s counterpart at Turner, Jon Diament.

Neither exec would confirm third-party researchers’ estimate that total sales for March Madness added up to more than $1 billion, but Bogusz said that figure is “in the range,” adding it has set a new record.Diament said the sellout is the earliest in the tournament’s recent history.Covid wiped out the 2020 tournament completely, with its cancellation in mid-March providing an early reality check for Americans confronting the coronavirus.

The 2021 edition went on as usual, but with vaccines still uncommon, both spectator capacity and venue selection were significantly limited, with the state of Indiana hosting the entire event.