Sold Out: CBS Fills Super Bowl Ad Space

(CBS/AP)  CBS Corp. said it sold out of ads for the Super Bowl on Monday at average prices that are better than last year, with some 30-second spots topping $3 million apiece.

CBS said the final spot sold Monday morning, six days before kickoff.

That's a few days ahead of schedule. Last year, NBC still had two 30-second spots remaining two days before the game as the economy was mired in a recession, and announced only on the eve of the game that it sold out a total 69 spots.

CBS said last month it was selling 62 spots, but that grew over time and the final number of spots is "very close" to what NBC sold last year, said spokesman Dana McClintock. The network provided no further details on prices.

"We're happy campers over here," said Jo Ann Ross, president of network sales at CBS.

She said some spots during the pre-game broadcast were still available.

The Super Bowl is regularly the biggest marketing event of the year, and last year's event had a record 98.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

Ads during the 2009 game brought in $213 million, according to Kantar Media, formerly known as TNS Media Intelligence.

The Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints play in the Super Bowl in Miami this Sunday.

The Super Bowl, while perennially the most-watched television event of the year, has traditionally avoided the role of political platform, until this year.

Former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow will star in a pro-life spot during the big game. However, CBS rejected an ad from a gay dating site, telling the site that the ad "is not within the Network's Broadcast Standards for Super Bowl Sunday."

[jdca2010]

Good job, CBS! Run the Tebow ad if you so choose. Let each of us watch and form our opinions about it. It's not really a choice if the ad doesn't run.

[sgky51]

YOU GO CBS THANK YOU THANK YOU