'Oprah Winfrey Show' Finale Fetching $1 Million Per 30-Second Spot

With Oprah Winfrey readying for her May 25 sign-off, advertisers are being asked to dig deep into their pockets. 

The asking price for a 30-second opportunity to reach viewers on Winfrey’s final daytime talk show is currently at $1 million. Depending on placement within the show, some buyers will likely shell out even more.    It’s a jaw-dropping sum, particularly for daytime fare, but it’s hardly the first time Madison Avenue has been asked to open its wallets for ad time in TV’s hotly-anticipated finales.     According to a list culled by Horizon Media’s Brad Adgate, using Nielsen Co. and Kantar Media data, ad buyers were forced to shell out double that for a spot on Friends’ farewell, which drew an even more staggering 52.5 million viewers in 2004.   Six years earlier, a spot in Seinfeld’s final episode set advertisers back $1.42 million. But for that price, they got the opportunity to reach 76.3 million, an unheard of sum outside of events like the Super Bowl in today’s fractured landscape.    Everybody Loves Raymond spots were similarly pricey, with a 30-second ad buy in the May 2005 finale fetching $1.22 million. In return, an audience of 32.9 million tuned in to see Ray Romano and his cast bid farewell.    Five other pricey :30 finale spots: Lost (2010): $900,000 X-Files (2002): $679,700 24 (2010): $650,000 Cheers (1993): $650,000 Ally McBeal (2002): $582,600