ABC sells out of its 30-second ad spots ahead of the Oscars

Mario Anzuoni | Reuters

An Oscar statue is seen during a media preview of this year’s Academy’s Governors Ball in Los Angeles, California, February 15, 2019.

Years of declining ratings and a number of public PR snafus hasn’t chased advertisers away from the Academy Awards broadcast.

On Wednesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that ABC, the Disney-owned network televising the event on Feb. 24, had sold out of its ad inventory for the annual awards show. These 30-second spots are estimated to be worth between $2 million and $2.6 million, according to a Bloomberg report.

The Oscars are one of the most prestigious television events outside of live sports broadcasts and a program that many people still prefer to watch live. For comparison, this year’s Super Bowl boasted a $5.25 million price tag for 30-second ads.

WalletHub estimates that it takes $44 million to put on the Oscars ceremony. These advertisements help recoup those costs.

Viewers can expect to see advertisements from Cadillac, Google, Rolex, Verizon, Walmart, Budweiser, McDonald’s, Paramount and Walt Disney Studios, among others. The ads come from more than a dozen different industries, including apparel, luxury spirits, tourism and restaurants, the academy said. It is expected that many of these ads will be catered to the event or will be debuts for marketers.

Notably, Marriott International will get its own commercial break during the broadcast, according to Variety. The company will show a 30-second promo for its hotels and a 60-second ad for its rewards program. Then the awards ceremony will resume.

This is the first time that this type of “pod” advertising will be used at the Oscars, although other networks have used this format with brands in the past.