Streaming-only Super Bowl ads gain traction on NBC’s Peacock

The Super Bowl is a premier event each year for advertisers who want to get their brands in front of millions of consumers simultaneously. It is also costly.

So a small subset of ad space for streaming-only ads is gaining traction, giving smaller brands time on TV’s biggest night of the year.

Comcast’s NBC broadcast network will air Super Bowl 60 This year, the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will face off at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. NBC’s streaming service Peacock will simulcast the event. While streaming has generally become an extremely popular way to consume content, the Super Bowl is still primarily viewed via the broadcast network.

Streaming simulcasts, which gain viewers year after year, include specific ad spots dedicated solely to that audience.

Stream-only ads make up about 10% of all ad inventory during the Super Bowl and cost about half the cost of a traditional TV commercial. Mark MarshallNBC’s president of global advertising and partnerships.

“It’s a lot cheaper, but it’s still not cheap,” Marshall said. “And part of it is you don’t have a lot of that type of advertising, right? I think people have figured out that trick over the last couple of years, and it’s been done really well on air. As a result, a lot of people are lining up and wanting to do it.”

The cost of national advertising for the Super Bowl breaks records every year. NBC has run out of Super Bowl ad inventory, CNBC previously reported; An average of $8 million per 30-second spot, with five to 10 spots selling for more than $10 million each.

Stream-only ads currently airing nationally are filling gaps that would have hosted regional ads during traditional TV broadcasting.

These spots also bring in new advertisers from outside the main hubs, such as Budweiser and Lay’s. All of the Peacock-exclusive ads this year are new advertisers from NBC’s Super Bowl slate, Marshall said. For example, cowboy boot brand Tecovas and family location security app Hayat360 both bought streaming-only spots this year.

Marketing chiefs of both brands pointed to the impact of the Super Bowl and high costs when explaining their decision to turn to Peacock.

Tecovas CMO Krista Dalton called the company’s broadcast debut a “deliberate choice” in an email, allowing the brand to achieve the impact of the Super Bowl “with a highly interactive medium while remaining disciplined in our investments.”

“The broadcast is a great way for us to test what being integrated into such a monumental cultural moment can do for our brand and business,” Life360 CMO Mike Zeman said via email. “It allows us to reach a huge, highly engaged audience of modern, connected families with an ‘out-of-pocket’ investment that doesn’t break the bank or take up too large a percentage of our overall marketing budget.”

Last year, approximately 128 million viewers watched the Super Bowl on television and online. Nielsen.

While NBC has offered a digital offering for the last four Super Bowl telecasts, Marshall said more advertisers are vying for broadcast space as the platform reaches 44 million subscribers.

And fittingly, that growth has been driven largely by NBC’s push into live sports. This month, NBC will air the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics It will start with the NBA All-Star game on Friday. It’s a lively sports slate that the company bills as “Legendary February.”

“Obviously it’s a big year for NBC and Peacock is more sold out than ever. We’re seeing a lot of brands supporting Peacock,” said Doug Paladino. advertising agency PMG.

Paladino noted that brands have seen good results during Sunday Night Football games simulcast on Peacock, primarily due to their on-air audience targeting capabilities.

Online-only ads can also serve as an on-ramp for emerging brands looking to get their foot in the door of the Big Game.

Last year, direct-to-consumer health startup Ro bought its first ad during the Super Bowl. Fox’s streaming service Tubi.

“For their money, the results they got from the Super Bowl were well above the traditional spotlight,” said Philip Inghelbrecht, CEO and co-founder of the technology firm. Tatarwhich works with brands and advertisers and helps Ro win the streaming-only ad space in 2025.

This year, Ro offers access to GLP-1 medications and telehealth appointments.strengthened its commitment He went to the Super Bowl and bought a spot on the traditional game broadcast on NBC. Tennis superstar Serena Williams pin the ad.

“Last year we stepped into advertising during the Super Bowl through an acquisition from Tubi. This was a really compelling chance for us to really understand how our brand and our creativity performed in this environment,” said Will Flaherty, Ro’s senior vice president of growth.

Smaller brands also have more affordable options to test the waters.

Men’s grooming company Manscaped has decided to buy a spot before kick-off to advance the next phase of its business – a less coveted but still expensive time slot than during the game.

“Manscaped is a brand that has been around for several years, but we are at this pivotal moment in our trajectory where there is a huge push towards products beyond the crotch and our first claim to fame,” said Marketing Director Marcelo Kertesz. he said. “We have something new to communicate with the world.”

“We know this place is his

It’s just a piece of it, a very important and very expensive piece, but it makes sense for us to do it right now,” Kertesz said. “I think it’s a desire for all brands to be on that stage at some point.”