The matchup between the Los Angeles Rams (and Cincinnati Bengals) next Sunday will be the first to have a Super Bowl as well as the Winter Olympics simultaneously. CBS was originally scheduled to host this year's Super Bowl, but CBS in 2019 made a deal with NBC. CBS had the game last year, which gave it two Super Bowls in three seasons.
Many reasons made the trade logical. NBC was able pair Super Bowl and Olympic ads for advertisers. CBS will not be worried about competing against the Olympics.
Pete Bevacqua, President of NBC Sports Group, acknowledged that there are logistical challenges in coordinating two mega-events simultaneously. However, the benefits far outweigh these.
"We'll have the Super Bowl's 100 million plus audience, and then we'll transition into excellent live Olympic coverage in Beijing. Bevacqua stated that it was an "unbelievably, truly unparalleled, and never before seen one punch." It's a home run from a marketing and sales perspective.
NBC has sold all its spots during the Super Bowl, and there are a few spots left for pregame. Dan Lovinger is NBC Sports' executive vice-president for advertising sales. He said that rates have increased nearly 20% since the Super Bowl 2018. The 30-second spot cost $7 million.
Lovinger credits a number of factors for the strong sales.
"First, I think the NFL has never been more powerful, especially in comparison terms." He said that if you want to reach 100 millions people in an evening, the Super Bowl is your only option. Second is the economy. It seems to be on a fairly stable footing. We've seen a lot of consumer confidence and we know that advertisers are more likely to advertise when consumers consume.
The third, and most interesting, thing is COVID's impact on advertisers and how they have learned to adapt. We're seeing new categories, such as studios, that have been missing from the market last year. Marketers are finding ways to get around it. You'll see new categories such as legalized sports betting and cryptocurrency. Some streaming platforms are also coming in. Then you have your classics (autos and beverages). It all adds up, and it makes for a very strong market for Super Bowl.
This was a once in a life time day, according to NBC executives. It is becoming a regular occurrence. The Super Bowl rotation will be the same year that the Winter Olympics, when the NFL's 11-year television deal begins in 2023.
If the league continues to play 17 games in 18 weeks, the 2026 Super Bowl would be played on February 8, the first weekend of Milano Cortina Games.
Next Sunday at 8 a.m. ET will be covering the Olympics. ET will have four hours of Olympics coverage before the Super Bowl. NBC will be returning to Beijing to cover ice dance and the monobob (one woman bobsled) competition after the Super Bowl postgame. This is expected to take place around 10:30 p.m.
Between the Super Bowl, Olympics and Prime Plus shows from Beijing, there will almost 18 hours of uninterrupted coverage.
"Yeah, because we will be there first and stay last, we are going be the Super Bowl party guest that doesn’t leave. "We're going leave the lights on," Mike Tirico, NBC Olympics and Super Bowl pregame host said.
Tirico will perform double duty. For Friday's Olympic prime time show, he will fly from Beijing and Los Angeles. He will be at SoFi Stadium all weekend to host both the Olympics and the Super Bowl Pregame.
After joining NBC in 2016, Tirico is now the prime-time host of the Olympics. This is also his fourth Super Bowl appearance (the three previous were with ABC).
"They are both dream assignments so it's not necessary to sleep at this point." Tirico stated that the only thing you need to be certain of is your ability to do it right. From an editorial perspective, I believe we'll be able deliver the same coverage. That's got to be the main focus of this. It will also help to enhance the unique Super Bowl weekend, because we were part of the buildup for the Olympics coverage.
