At $3 million, Super Bowl ad time is ... cheap?

At a reported $3 million per 30 seconds, advertising for the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII is the most expensive ever for the big game. But by some measures, it makes financial sense, and might even be a bargain. Relatively speaking.

Last year a record 97.5 million viewers watched the tight championship matchup between the New York Giants and New England Patriots, shattering the record of 94 million set in 1996. It was the second-most-watched show since the final episode of “M*A*S*H.”

That means that even at last year’s reported rate of $2.7 million per 30 seconds, advertisers ended up paying about 2.7 cents per view, compared with 5.6 cents a view for the Oscars, which has about a third of the audience.

An NFL and Fox study conducted by Millward Brown Optimor shows that one Super Bowl ad generates more sales than 250 regular TV ads.

“They say the inauguration may be bigger than the Super Bowl. But those people won’t also be watching for the commercials,” said Walter F. Guarino, advertising professor at Seton Hall University.

A tough economy may have caused some companies that were Super Bowl ad fixtures to sit out this year’s game, but experts say they’ll be back because it’s too big an opportunity to miss.

Video   An ad like no other Dreamworks will promote its upcoming movie, "Monsters vs. Aliens," with a 3-D ad during the Super Bowl. CNBC's Maria Bartiromo speaks with Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. CNBC

New companies are taking the place of stalwarts like General Motors and FedEx, which are staying on the sidelines.

Denny’s, the 55-year-old restaurant chain, will have its first-ever Super Bowl spot during the third quarter.

The ad generating the most buzz may be DreamWorks’ 3-D, 90-second spot previewing its upcoming movie “Monsters vs. Aliens.”

As of mid-January, NBC had sold 90 percent of the available ad time at an estimated $3 million per 30-second slot, according to Reuters. The network wouldn’t confirm how many spots are left or what the rate is — generally, placement in the first half costs more. Reuters polled media buyers who said that probably meant 10 to 12 slots were left.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

“The Super Bowl is more than just a game, it’s a national holiday,” said Brian Walker, senior director of communications for NBC Sports. “There is unrivaled attention surrounding the game and, as research confirms, it remains the most powerful vehicle for an advertiser to promote its brand and products.”

That attention is what makes the game prime TV real estate for advertisers.

“It’s an incredibly unique advertising opportunity," said Tim Calkins, professor of marketing at Northwestern University. "There is more and more media fragmentation. The Super Bowl is the rare opportunity to reach across demographics. If you have a major new campaign, there is no better place to introduce it."

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