NBCU is bringing a full-court press for its NBA ad inventory.
Ahead of NBA tipoff in two weeks—which starts the first season of an 11-year deal between the league and NBCU—NBCUniversal is announcing that it has surpassed its advertising expectations, achieving a near sellout of ad inventory and taking on almost 170 partners.
According to NBCU, more than 20% of advertisers are new to the company, and nearly 10% are new to the NBA. Additionally, more than 70% of clients are investing across NBCU’s platforms, and more than 30% of overall NBA investment has gone towards digital. Investments in linear have also exceeded expectations by 20%, NBCU added.
“As a Chicago native, watching Michael Jordan and the Bulls win six championships with the NBA on NBC was an indescribable feeling, and now helping to welcome the property back is both a personal and professional highlight for me,” Mark Mashall, NBCU’s ads chief, said in a statement. “It is incredibly exciting to re-create the magic of the NBA on NBC as it returns to NBC and launches it on Peacock for the first time.”
The company is sold out of its marquee spots, with categories coming from auto, finance, QSR, entertainment, and retail.
Among the brands you’ll see, American Express is the official halftime sponsor, and DraftKings is the betting partner. Meanwhile, Kia is the official presenting sponsor of Tuesday’s NBA Coast to Coast, McDonald’s will sponsor Basketball Night in America and NBA Showtime on Sunday, State Farm will sponsor Tuesday’s NBA Showtime studio show, and Wingstop is sponsoring the Monday NBA Showtime studio show.
Xfinity will be the official presenting sponsor for Peacock NBA Monday.
Overall, NBCU will present 100 NBA regular-season games, up to 40 playoff games, and the NBA All-Star Weekend/Game each year. And the company is also making the inventory for its games available programmatically.