As the NFL’s Carolina Panthers prepare to defend myself against the Denver Broncos this Sunday, Bell Media is preparing for the possibility this will be the last Super Bowl with a guaranteed audience for Canadian ads.
Terence Corcoran: CRTC fumbles its imaginary Super Bowl commercial crisis
If this were 2017, the Victoria’s Secret Super Bowl commercial would be no secret to Canadians watching the game on CTV. Within demagogic declaration Thursday from Jean-Pierre Blais, head of the obsolete Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the blonde at a negative balance bra featured in the Victoria’s Secret ad for U.S. viewers from the 2015 Super Bowl could be mandated viewing for Canadian NFL fans.
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That’s because the federal regulator has decided to stop Bell, which owns the television rights to the Super Bowl through broadcaster CTV, from requiring that cable companies carrying U.S. stations broadcasting the game substitute CTV’s signal to increase the reach of its advertisements. Both Bell and also the Nfl have appealed the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission decision towards the Federal Court of Appeal.
Perry MacDonald, senior vice president of English television and local sales for Bell Media, said the interest in advertising slots in this year’s championship game was as strong as ever. The Super Bowl is the most-watched enter in the country and MacDonald said the 9.2 million Canadians who have been attentiveness on average this past year attracted millions of dollars in advertising revenue.
Super Bowl viewers were even the driving force behind the CRTC’s decision. When chairman Jean-Pierre Blais made the announcement at the begining of 2015, he argued that although simultaneous substitution, or “simsub,” which is worth about $250 million annually to the broadcasting industry, was too vital that you ban completely, during the Super Bowl, “advertising belongs to the spectacle.”
But MacDonald urged individuals to take into account the broader repercussions.
“This affects not just iconic Canadian the likes of Scotiabank, Loblaws and Tim Hortons, but also small local business owners across the nation that purchase local air time in the Super Bowl broadcast,” MacDonald said.
“Canadian companies have a really diminished chance to market many to Canadians who definitely are watching U.S. ads for items that they probably can’t even buy. In a struggling economy, and with Super Bowl advertisements easily available online, it’s a bizarre approach.”
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The CRTC didn’t respond to a request for comment.
With more and more people turning to the Internet for video and abandoning their cable subscriptions, live television events like the Super Bowl are critically important to broadcasters. About two-thirds of the $2.9 billion in revenue Bell Media produced in 2014 originated from advertising.
The splashy and dear advertisements that air in the U.S. during the Super Bowl generate hype and excitement separate from what actually happens during the game. This year’s American commercials will feature comedians Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen promoting Bud Light, Liam Neeson boosting LG and Christopher Walken trying to sell viewers a 2016 Kia Optima.
Last year, 114.5 million people watched the Super Bowl on NBC – which makes it the most-watched television enter in American history. This year’s broadcaster is CBS and also the company is charging advertisers US$5 million for a 30-second slot, according to a professional on the quarterly earnings call.
MacDonald declined to reveal the price of a Super Bowl ad on CTV, but a resource acquainted with the advertising industry said a 30-second commercial airing over the network applies to about $200,000. That means advertisers are prepared to pay about six Canadian cents per American Super Bowl viewer, when compared with about two cents for each Canadian one.
In a struggling economy, with Super Bowl advertisements easily available online, it is a bizarre approach
MacDonald wouldn’t say whether it will make financial sense for Bell to bid for Canadian rights to the Super Bowl in the absence of simsub, but its contract with the NFL lasts until 2019. It’s unclear the way the end of simsub would affect the rates Bell has the capacity to charge.
Despite the possible lack of Fashion followers, Canadian viewers are actually not as likely to alter the channel throughout the commercials as you’re watching the Super Bowl than as you’re watching other programs, said Loraine Cordery, insights manager using the media agency holding company IPG Mediabrands. Based on an analysis of last year’s ratings data by the company, typically 7.Two million Canadians were watching during Super Bowl commercial breaks, compared to 8.3 million throughout the game and 10.7 million throughout the halftime show (yes, the halftime show was more popular than the game).
“Canadians are certainly involved in those advertisements,” Cordery said. “Whether (the end of simsub) increases viewership from the ads is going to be interesting to determine.”
Of course, there’d be nothing stopping advertisers from purchasing a united states Super Bowl ad if they wanted to ensure they reach Canadians inside a post-simsub world. But Ron Lund, president and chief executive of the Association of Canadian Advertisers, said it wouldn’t be affordable for most companies.
Meanwhile, American companies would obtain the advantage of the additional eyeballs and also the revenue would go for an American network, Lund said. “A policy that mandates watching the U.S. commercials kind of befuddles us.”
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