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The first overtime game in Super Bowl history was as much a boon to Fox executives as it was to football fans.
There may have only been four minutes of OT action played, but between the end of regulation, the coin toss, and whatever else the NFL does to add in extra time for media breaks, Fox was able to nab an estimated $20 million in additional commercials.
It’s not currently known whether or not the network charged a higher rate for overtime spots.
According to Adweek, Fox aired four commercials — including two previously unseen spots for Proactive and SoFi — in accordance with pre-negotiated deals.
With advertising rates hovering around $5 million per commercial, the longer this went, the better for Fox executives who had already gotten extremely lucky with Game 7 of the World Series going to extra innings back in November.
Even still, those World Series spots were selling for around $500,000 — or as much as three seconds of airtime costs during the Super Bowl.
Adweek reported earlier in the week that Sunday was expected to be Fox’s highest-revenue day in the network’s history, but it’s likely it blew past whatever number they anticipated.
If you can’t remember any of the commercials because your brain is filled with nothing but replays of the Julio Jones and Julian Edelman catches, well, for one, you’re not alone, and two, we’ve got you covered.