Football Commands Highest TV Ad Prices

NBC's "Sunday Night Football" charges $627,300 for a 30-second advertisement, more than any other program in prime-time broadcast television, according to a survey by Advertising Age. On its heels is CBS' new Thursday night football telecast, being shown this fall for the first time, at $483,333. Television's top-rated comedy, "The Big Bang Theory," is the scripted show with the priciest ads, at $344,827, Advertising Age said. Otherwise, ad prices don't always mesh with the Nielsen company's measurements of which programs get the biggest audience. That's because advertisers pay a premium to reach a younger audience.