‘Cosby Show’ Asking $350,000 and Up for Ads

NBC’s hit series “The Cosby Show” is reportedly commanding the highest advertising prices for a series program in television history for this year’s fall season--$350,000 to $400,000 for a 30-second commercial, an industry trade magazine reported Monday.

Only the Super Bowl, which reportedly got as much as $525,000 for a 30-second commercial last January, attracts more money for commercial time, Advertising Age, a New York-based trade magazine, reported.

“The fact of the matter is that ‘The Cosby Show’ is a phenomenon,” said Allan Banks, director of media for Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample/Dorland Worldwide. “The price for it is certainly not excessive relative to other shows,” Banks said, because of its huge audience.

40% Price Hike

“The Cosby Show,” starring comedian Bill Cosby, is expected to increase prices by more than 40% over the estimated $247,000 that it charged last television season for such eager-to-buy advertisers as movie studios, which need to advertise Friday movie premieres on Thursday night, when “The Cosby Show” airs.

Consumer product companies and other corporations that are not as concerned with having their commercials aired on a specific date often pay less. And rates can drop as air time approaches and the networks become more desperate to fill unsold commercial time.

Fall advertising prices for other top-rated network shows were not immediately available.

However, last September, when Advertising Age compiled its annual pricing survey, ABC’s “Dynasty,” which charged a reported $235,000, ranked second behind “The Cosby Show.”