The Oscars surpassed on price only by the Super Bowl for a 30 second slot
The Oscars is the second most expensive ad buy in US media with the Academy now accepting a historically high number of placements to accommodate brand demand, according to research from Kantar.
The Academy Awards is surpassed only by the Super Bowl on price
A 30 second spot for the show (26 February) is likely to set brands back anywhere between $1.9m-$2.0m, up from $1.72m in 2016, when it raised $115m in ad revenue. It is expected to emulate the feat in 2017, under the close eye of broadcaster ABC.
Last year, the awards opened up to 80 commercials, up a quarter from 2012 where there were 60, hinting that demand is up, even if the same cannot be said of ratings.
Across the major entertainment awards, the Oscars rules supreme with its $1.72m asking price, the Grammy Awards follows at $954k per slot, ahead of the Golden Globes at $575k.
Growing to meet demand, the Oscars now offers 45% more network ad time than it did in five years. Last year the top six spenders at the awards were as follows, Samsung Group ($18m), General Motors ($13.7m), Kohls ($10.3m), AT&T ($10.3m), Google ($6.9m) and American Express ($6.9m).
One immediate shift in the list for 2017, is that Walmart has replaced Kohls as the exclusive retail category sponsor.
The price still lags substantially behind the Super Bowl which can charge anywhere in the region of $5m for 30 seconds.
The report concluded: "Significant trends include higher ad prices and revenue; rising ad volume that is diminishing the event’s advantage versus other programming; and an influx of first-time advertisers. Advertisers are also using regional TV buys to circumvent exclusive-sponsor arrangements in the network telecast. Finally, product integrations are creeping into the awards ceremony itself and giving a few marketers the opportunity to 'brandjack' the social media discussion during the live broadcast."