Brands Are Dying To Advertise On 'Breaking Bad' - And AMC Is Making Them Pay

BIAmerica's biggest brands are dying to get their hands on some "Breaking Bad" advertising time.

The New York Times reports that AMC hit will seek up to $300,000 for a 30-second advertisement on the final seven episodes of its smash hit, a price one executive told the Times that cable networks have rarely commanded before.

That number is more than what the broadcast networks charge for time on the vast majority of their primetime programming — ad space for ABC's "Revenge" costs $155,051. But it does come shy of the staggering $375,000 AMC asked late buyers for 30-second spots on Walking Dead last year. Prices could go up as the season progresses.

Here's the reason for "Breaking Bad's" success with advertisers: In addition to a sizeable audience that reached 5.9 million viewers for its season premier, the show has crushed it with young men, a demographic advertisers find difficult to reach. Sixty percent of the "Breaking Bad" viewership is male, and the season premier reached a whopping 3.6 million viewers between the ages of 18 and 49, a figure that bested ABC, CBS, and NBC's Sunday night offerings combined.

With another strong episode in the books this past Sunday, and a hotly anticipated September 29 season finale on the horizon, it will be very interesting to see the extent to which advertisers are willing to break the bank for "Breaking Bad."