Earlier this year, research revealed that Sony spent more money on advertising the PS4 than Microsoft did for the Xbox One. Several months later, the roles have been reversed.
VentureBeat has an interesting article looking at TV advertising data that has been collated by iSpot.TV. According to the data, Microsoft spent $47 million on TV ads for the Xbox One this year. Sony on the other hand only spent $30 million in TV ads for the PS4.
To put this in perspective, Microsoft aired around 5000 TV commercials related for the Xbox One in 2014. Sony only aired 3000 TV commercials during the same time period.
Microsoft aired Xbox One TV commercials across 37 different networks that cover 1000 unique shows. Sony aired PS4 commercials only across 25 networks covering just more than 500 shows. The main networks both companies focused on were Fox, NBC, and ESPN.
Xbox One’s top shows advertised are as follows:
- NFL Football
- 2014 FIFA World Cup
- Talking Dead
- MLB Baseball
- Family Guy
PS4’S top shows advertised looked like this:
- NFL Football
- Sportscenter
- Fox Sports Live
- Family Guy
- WWE Monday Night Raw
VentureBeat notes these numbers cover ads aired from January 1st until October 21st. However, the site notes ads about Destiny are not included in the numbers because Sony made an agreement with Activision to co-promote the game.
This data is interesting since Microsoft has been more aggressive with its Xbox One marketing, however the PS4 still sells more units. The recent price drop for the Xbox One will help its numbers, but Sony won’t be going down without a fight.
