The Grammys should say a big thanks to Dua Lipa—because its ad sales are levitating.
Top line
The upcoming broadcast of the 2024 Grammys on CBS is seeing “tremendous demand,” a Paramount spokeswoman told ADWEEK, with sales being “driven by the incredible lineup of performances.”
Between the lines
The 66th annual Grammys, hosted by Trevor Noah from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 4, features the likes of Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, SZA, Dua Lipa and even Billy Joel performing. That lineup has helped lead to ad sales pricing being up with strong year-over-year increases.
The show offerings included everything from on-air and digital sponsorships to co-presenting sponsorships, social activations and more, with Paramount working closely with executive producers to ensure integrations are seamless and impactful.
Regarding categories, credit card, pharma, entertainment and travel will have strong representation on the night. Meanwhile, several clients chose to have multiple ad units.
This year’s show will look to build off of last year’s success, with 2023’s Grammys pulling its biggest audience since 2020.
The 65th Grammys brought in around 12.5 million average viewers on CBS, also finding a large audience across Paramount+ and other digital platforms.
Bottom line
Live tentpole events are proving to be an impactful ad sales driver for Paramount and its networks in 2024.
In addition to the success with the Grammys, the Golden Globes pulled in its biggest audience in four years in its revamped debut on CBS in January. Meanwhile, the company still has Super Bowl 58 on the way on Feb. 11, which recently sold out all of its inventory on Nickelodeon for its alternate telecast.
“As the world has moved to streaming, live has become increasingly important,” Paramount ad sales chief John Halley said at ADWEEK’s recent Outlook event. “It’s an incredibly important formula for brand impact.”
