Is the Super Bowl still the biggest game in town for advertisers? That’s the question many brands may be asking after Pepsi and Anheuser-Busch abandoned decades-long exclusive Super Bowl sponsorships — a reflection not only of the championship’s diminishing cachet in an evolving media landscape, but also the uncertain future of sports advertising with a recession on the horizon.
While the Super Bowl continues its reign as the year’s most-watched broadcast — drawing 112.3 million viewers for this year’s contest between the L.A. Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals — the value it provides advertisers is shrinking in an increasingly fragmented entertainment space, experts tell TheWrap.