ABC - OSCAR COMMERCIALS SELLING FOR RECORD PRICES

OSCAR COMMERCIALS SELLING FOR RECORD PRICES

Depending on their placement in the broadcast, 30-second commercials on ABC's telecast of the Feb. 24 Oscars telecast are fetching as much as $1.7 million each -- a record, Advertising Age reported Thursday. The trade publication observed that live telecasts like the Oscars are becoming especially valuable to advertisers since they are not likely to be watched at a later time by viewers with digital video recorders, who often skip commercials. ABC has contracted with General Motors to be the sole automotive advertiser on the telecast. AdAge suggested that GM will not only be buying commercial time, but will be getting a lot of product-placement time as well, with 75 of its "environmentally friendly" vehicles, including the GMC Yukon Hybrid, shuttling celebrities to the red carpet.

15/02/2008