The network is offering two tiers to potential advertisers, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions not authorized to speak publicly. The top tier, available for just a few advertisers, is a $1.5 million minimum advertising buy with all of the network’s features. The package includes a branded countdown clock, advertiser on-air billboards, co-branded tune-in promotions, a 30 second pre-debate ad slot, a 30-second ad during the debate, and one after. The package also includes ads on MAX and a takeover of the CNN Politics section on its digital site. One million buys several more prospective advertisers into the second tier, which includes the three ads, but fewer digital offerings and (sadly) no branded countdown clock. The network has also limited political spending by campaigns and political action committees to before and after the debate, but will not allow either to buy airtime during the event.
A network spokesperson declined to comment on the ad terms.
While far from Super Bowl prices, the price tag is even higher that it was for advertising during primary contests.
Variety noted that CBS asked for $200,000 and $225,000 for a 30-second ad during coverage of one of Trump’s debates with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016, and CNN asked for a minimum $300,000 commitment from advertisers seeking to buy additional ads during its 2020 Democratic presidential primary broadcasts.
This cycle’s Republican Primary was a media bust. Last year, Semafor reported that Fox set the prices for a single 30-second spot during the first Republican presidential primary debate at $495,000. But the network cut the price of the debate in half to just over $200,000 for the same slot during the event, $225,000 for 30-second ads during the broadcast immediately after the debate, and $125,000 for 30-second spots during the broadcast before it.
The premium ad prices reflect the network-wide effort going into next month’s contest, CNN’s most important live event since its town hall with Trump last year. A network spokesperson told Semafor earlier this week that though journalists won’t have access to the actual debate facility on CNN’s Techwood campus, the network is working to outfit a space nearby that can fit the hundreds of journalists it plans to credential for the debate, as well as two separate presidential Secret Service details.
