NCAA March Madness Ad Inventory Is Sold Out, With CBS Sports & Turner Citing Near-Double-Digit Rate Increases In Comeback From Covid

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. 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.

Jon Diament, Bogusz’s counterpart at Turner, 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 of that year providing an early reality check for Americans confronting the arrival of the coronavirus. The 2021 edition was played, but with vaccines still in the early stages of rolling out, spectator capacity and venue selection were significantly limited. The entire event took place in the state of Indiana. This year, with vaccine rates robust in many parts of the country and mask rules easing, the road to the Final Four in New Orleans resembles those in pre-pandemic times. Advertisers have taken note.

Tipoff of the “First Four” preliminary games is March 15 and the championship will be played on April 4. Under the alternating schedule in the WarnerMedia-Paramount sharing arrangement, TBS is slated to broadcast this year’s Final Four and the title game.

“We have had one hell of a selling season,” Bogusz said on the call. Asked to elaborate, he replied, “We still deliver significant ratings, and people watch these programs live. So, between a larger audience and delivering them in real time, I think advertisers across all demo groups are allocating more dollars to the sports marketplace.”

In addition to linear inventory, ads on streaming and digital platforms are also spoken for, Diament said. “Advertisers eat up” the multi-platform nature of the tournament, which draws viewing across dayparts in workplaces and sports bars as well as traditional living-room setups in prime time.