Speaking on a conference call with media and analysts, NBC's
Advertisers this year were asked to pay between $4.4 million and $4.5 million for 30 seconds of air time during the game. The total number of advertisers has reached the "mid seventies," Winter said.
Online, where NBC will be livestreaming the game, the broadcaster has also sold out, with 18 Super Bowl TV advertisers also opting for slots within the digital stream. Ads there will display much the same as TV ads - within the commercial breaks - but have generated less revenue for NBC as the livestream is not expected to garner anywhere near the "115 million to 120 million" expected to tune into the game on their TV sets. Despite this, NBC says it has generated 3 times the digital revenue it racked up the last time it aired the big game (in 2012), reaching "eight figures."
Those advertisers still wanting a piece of the Super Bowl action do still have an opportunity to snap up some airtime: There are a couple of pre-game slots left early on in the afternoon. But later on in the build-up to the game, and post-match, all inventory is completely sold out.
Earlier this week The New York Post reported that consumer buzz towards this year's Super Bowl ads was lacking compared with previous years. Business Insider asked Winter what his reaction was to these claims.
"I'm not sure I've seen the same reports regarding less interest around the Super Bowl..if anything there's more and more interest, with advertisers releasing their creative in more ingenious and pervasive ways year after year," Winter said.
He added that advertisers (such as Budweiser and BMW) have also been utilizing some of NBC's other internal properties like "The Today Show" and "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" to get maximum value out of their Super Bowl ad releases.
While the tone of NBC's call was celebratory, it has taken longer for the Super Bowl ads to sell out this year than last. FOX, which broadcast the 2014 Super Bowl, had sold out all its big game ad inventory by December 2013
Winter admitted the marketplace had been more "challenging" than in previous year, but said one of the most significant factors holding back deals from being cemented was advertisers finalizing - and sometimes opting to kill - their creative. He would not mention any names.