Super Bowl Booby Prize Emerges: In the...

Super Bowl Booby Prize Emerges: In the Super Bowl--usually the highest-rated TV show of the year, the most expensive for advertisers and the premiere showcase for commercials--a booby prize has emerged: the fourth quarter. Advertisers fear that even if viewers still have their sets on at that point, they may not be paying much attention. And who can blame them? Most recent games have been decided before the final quarter. NBC-TV said it has managed to sell all 29 minutes of advertising time for Super Bowl XXX, at $1.1 million or more for each 30-second spot, advertisers said. But the final few slots sold were all in the fourth quarter, sources said. “Hopefully, it will be a close game,” said Jim Schmiedeskamp, a spokesman for insulation company Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., which is running a fourth-quarter ad.