Super Bowl ads in New Orleans (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Super Bowl ads are selling for record prices — again

As streaming takes over TV, brands are scrambling for one of the last chances to reach a mass live audience.

2/3/25 10:22AM

With over 100 million viewers expected to tune in for the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles showdown this Sunday, brands are shelling out more than ever to secure a piece of the Super Bowl spotlight.

According to multiple reports, Fox, this year’s Super Bowl broadcaster, sold at least 10 commercial slots for over $8 million apiece, smashing last year’s $7 million record. That’s ~213x more than the $37,500 price tag of the first Super Bowl ad in 1967, per data from SuperBowl-ads.com.

While declining to disclose exact pricing details, Fox has openly admitted just how lucrative the Super Bowl is, with CFO Steve Tomsic calling it “very, very cash flow accretive for the company” during the November earnings call for Fox. Indeed, the company sold most of its ad slots by August at around $7 million — but was able to resell some withdrawn slots at an even higher price thanks to unrelenting demand, according to Variety.

The price surge comes as streaming overtakes traditional TV, making the Super Bowl one of the last mass audience events — or as Fox Sports EVP of sales told Variety, “The only place where you can aggregate legitimate scale with one commercial.”

As always, this year’s ad lineup spans a mix of industries. Confirmed brands include Meta (Ray-Ban smart glasses), Budweiser, Hellmann’s, PepsiCo, Uber Eats, Hims & Hers, and Stellantis, per TV ad measurement firm iSpot.tv.

Claire Yubin Oh

Scentsible

Estée Lauder’s Jo Malone is launching an “AI Scent Advisor” to convince people to buy perfumes without smelling them

Gen Z is driving a perfume and fragrance boom.

Max Knoblauch12/4/25

Netflix is down amid reports it’s leading the Warner Bros. bidding war as Paramount cries foul

Netflix’s charm offensive appears to be working.

Netflix is reportedly emerging as the leader in the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery after second-round bids this week, edging out entertainment juggernaut rivals Comcast and Paramount Skydance.

Investors don’t appear psyched by the streaming leader’s turn of fortune: the stock is down on Thursday morning, a day after closing down nearly 5% following reports that scooping up HBO Max wouldn’t necessarily result in a big market share boost.

Paramount, which has reportedly made five bids for Warner Bros. Discovery, doesn’t love the current state of play, either. The company sent WBD a letter questioning the “fairness and adequacy” of the process, highlighting reports that WBD’s board favors Netflix and is resisting Paramount.

Any offer would be subject to regulatory approval — a fact that may have weighed against Netflix’s offer given that cofounder Reed Hastings’ politics are vocally to the left, very much at odds with the current regulatory regime. Paramount seems confident in its ability to get approval, reportedly boosting its breakup fee to $5 billion should its potential acquisition fall apart in the regulatory process.

Paramount questions Warner Bros. Discovery on 'fairness and adequacy' of sale process: Read the full letter

Hyunsoo Rim

PEAK CONSULTING?

12/3/25

After three decades of pretty constant growth, the consultancy boom just hit an AI-shaped wall

Accenture has a new deal with OpenAI — did ChatGPT’s launch top-tick consulting employment?

Human hand and AI hand on the yellow background

Max Knoblauch12/3/25

Delta says the government shutdown will cost it $200 million in Q4

The 43-day government shutdown that ended last month will result in a $200 million ding for Delta Air Lines, the airline said in a filing on Wednesday.

That’s about $100,000 per shutdown-related canceled flight. (Delta previously said it canceled more than 2,000 flights due to FAA flight reductions.) When the company reports its fourth-quarter earnings, the shutdown will lop off about $0.25 per share.

Delta initially stayed calm about the shutdown, with CEO Ed Bastian stating in early October that the company was running smoothly and hadn’t seen any impacts at all. One historically long shutdown later, Delta wasn’t able to remain untouched.

The skies have since cleared, though, and Delta’s filing states that booking growth has “returned to initial expectations following a temporary softening in November.”

Delta’s shares were up over 2% as of Wednesday’s market open.

Delta Air Sees $200 Million Hit from Shutdown Fallout

The skies have since cleared, though, and Delta’s filing states that booking growth has “returned to initial expectations following a temporary softening in November.”

Delta’s shares were up over 2% as of Wednesday’s market open.

Tom Jones

amassed media

12/3/25

Netflix reportedly made a mostly cash offer for Warner Bros. Discovery over the weekend

The WBD bidding war is heating up — what will the winner get?

Super Bowl ads are selling for record prices — again

More Business

Netflix is down amid reports it’s leading the Warner Bros. bidding war as Paramount cries foul

Paramount questions Warner Bros. Discovery on 'fairness and adequacy' of sale process: Read the full letter

Delta says the government shutdown will cost it $200 million in Q4

Delta Air Sees $200 Million Hit from Shutdown Fallout

Latest Stories