- ABC (DIS +1.2%) has sold more than three-quarters of its commercial inventory for the Feb. 24 broadcast of the Oscars, and is seeking $2M-$3M per 30-second spot, Variety reports.
- That's ahead of pace for last year.
- The Oscars is the biggest single day for ad-revenue generation at ABC; commercials around the awards and red-carpet coverage drew about $128M for ABC in 2017.
- The news suggests big events are still an advertiser draw despite continually declining ratings for the telecast over the past four years.
- ABC's seen interest this year from automakers, retailers, beverage marketers and makers of consumer technology.
- The broadcast will need a new late-breaking host to cover duties: Comedian Kevin Hart stepped down from the role after controversial tweets from his past resurfaced. But most ads were locked in before the controversy, ABC says.
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