In between helpings of turkey and other Thanksgiving Day fare, viewers will see companies dishing up hefty portions of ads on sports programming, with the national TV ad spend expected to hit $624 million over the four-day holiday weekend, according to new data from Guideline.
New insights from Guideline show sports programming will account for at least 84% of all broadcast dollars over the holiday weekend with NFL games accounting for 69% of all ad spending and 80% of the spending on sports.
“Thanksgiving weekend highlights the unmatched value of sports in video advertising,” Guideline Head of Product Strategy Alberto Leyes said. “With the NFL driving nearly 70% of national TV, advertisers see this holiday as a prime opportunity for massive reach and engagement despite double-digit growth in unit rates. From record NFL audiences to rising demand for college football, sports remain the go-to choice for connecting with viewers at scale.”
Guideline captures actual agency investment from all holding companies and most large independents, representing spend committed by contributing agency partners for yet-to-run inventory.
Ads during the NFL Thanksgiving Day games on Thursday (Nov. 28) have the highest 30-second unit rate at $1.45 million, up 16% year over year.
With the NFL setting a record of 34.1 million viewers for last year’s Thanksgiving games, Guideline reported that sports are once again expected to dominate broadcast ad spending with $570 million in spending from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1.
That accounts for 84% of all broadcast dollars and includes streaming service Prime Video’s Black Friday NFL game. Factoring in sports content on cable during those dates, the figure tallies $624 million.
Guideline also reported that the share of spending on sports programming during the Thursday-Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend is up from 81% in 2023 and up from 73% in 2019, the year prior to the pandemic.
The NFL Thanksgiving Thursday games (on NBC, Fox, CBS) have the highest 30-seond unit rate at $1.45 million, up 16% year over year. NFL Thanksgiving weekend games (NBC, Fox, CBS and Prime Video) cost $576,000 for a 30-second spot, up 11% YoY.
The Guideline data also indicated that college football also sees a boost during the holiday weekend, as 30-second units for college football Saturday games (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC) cost $133,000, up 12% year over year.
