Paying for the Final Episode

How much would you pay for a 30 second spot in the final episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show? Ad time for the final season, final week and final episode are selling as high as $500,000 to $1 million for a 30 second spot.

CBS Television Distribution (CTD) is justifying the higher prices for the final episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show by estimating that ratings will be up considerably from last year. Yet in recent weeks, ratings for The Oprah Winfrey Show have spiraled downward. Some attribute the ratings slide to the fact that her main focus right now is on the launch of OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network).

CBS is not the only network to seek premium prices for the final episode of long running shows. ABC reportedly sought between $850,000 and $950,000 for a spot in the finale of Lost. NBC got $1.5 million to $2.3 million for spots in the last episode of Friends in 2004 and $1.4 million to $1.8 million for the Seinfeld finale in 1998. In 2005, when Everybody Loves Raymond went off the air, CBS sold spots for about $1.3 million.

Will you be watching the final episode?