NCAA Tournament ads are 90% sold

The recession is over!

At least, from the standpoint of commercial ads for the NCAA tournament…for this year.  CBS has sold 90% of the ad space available for the 2010 NCAA tournament, despite a serious cut back in advertising spend by embattled car company General Motors (for those that don’t know the Pontiac brand is a part of General Motors).

CBS has sold more than 90 percent of the available ad time for its coverage of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s men’s basketball tournament. Both pricing and total sales are up compared to last year, per the network, although that’s coming off a recession year when pricing was flat and total sales for the March Madness tourney were down.

So, how is CBS still selling considerable ad space despite losing at least $25 million in advertising dollars?  Import car makers, including Audi and Mercedes Benz, are stepping up to larger spending commitments.  Furthermore, it looks like a lot of previous advertisers are being upgraded to “official sponsor” due to increased spending,

Several advertisers in other categories are stepping up to NCAA “official partner” status, with increased spending commitments, including LG, Kraft and Capital One. They join returning sponsors Enterprise car rental, State Farm Insurance, Lowe’s and The Hartford.

AT&T and Coca-Cola are returning as “corporate champions,” the highest NCAA sponsorship level in CBS’ NCAA coverage. (via AdWeek)

The overall revenue for the 2010 tournament is expected to increase by a number somewhere in the “upper single digits”, with ads going for as little as $100,000 per 30 seconds in the opening round and up to $1.2 million for a 30 second spot during the championship.

Increased revenue for CBS…increased spending by companies…what is this, 2005?

…apparently it is.  And as far as sports sponsorships go, everyone is probably breathing a collective sigh of relief.