Super Bowl XLVI Scores $3.5 Million Per Commercial for NBC

NBC's Feb. 5 Super Bowl broadcast is already a financial winner, fetching $3.5 million per commercial while nearly selling out available slots. Just six in-game commercial spaces remain, an NBC spokesman said in AdWeek.

Last year's Super Bowl on Fox, pitting eventual winner Green Bay against Pittsburgh, earned $3 million per commercial. Fox also scored an early advertising touchdown, locking up 80% of its advertising by June 2010, AdWeek said.

A bitter labor dispute that led to the league's longest work stoppage this year could have scared off advertisers, but who's going to pass up the country's hottest marketing platform?

No word on who the big spenders are, but the trade publication revealed that many had NBC-related business, such as the Summer Olympics, to promote.

The bulk of the regular season starts on Sunday, and we viewers can already rest easy that our Super Bowl commercial breaks will offer an excellent alternative to using the bathroom.