SUPER BOWL - COMPANIES TO SPEND MILLIONS ON FRIENDS AD SLOT

The cost of buying an advert during the final episode of FRIENDS in the US will be $2 million (GBP1.24 million) - making the breaks the most expensive ever for a non-sports programme.

TV Network NBC is asking advertisers for the kind of money usually reserved for the biggest event in the US broadcasting calendar, the American Football SUPER BOWL.

More than 100 million viewers tune in to the Super Bowl and reaching the extensive audience costs advertisers up to $3 million (GBP1.9 million) for a 30-second ad.

But the two-hour finale to the 10th and final series of Friends next May (03) will be one of the most hyped entertainment programmes in TV history and NBC is setting its ad rates accordingly.