It would cost less to broadcast an ad in space than for the Super Bowl in the United States. In any case, this is the conclusion of a study conducted by Russian researchers from the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), reports the American magazine Fortune . Using 50 satellites to create an advertisement that would be visible for several months would cost approximately 65 million dollars (approximately 66.4 million euros).
The technology is certainly expensive but it exists. For that, it would be necessary to send 50 satellites in heliosynchronous orbit, allowing them to be always in direct sunlight. Parabolic reflectors would be deployed to capture sunlight. They would then be visible from Earth. The satellites would act like pixels, allowing images to be created for a few minutes.
Satellites directed to major cities
For reasons of profitability, the machines would be directed towards the big cities, to reach a maximum of audience. The researchers have calculated that the net income could reach some 111 million dollars (113.7 million euros).
It would then be necessary to broadcast 24 advertisements for three months. This means that an advertisement for such a period would cost 4.6 million dollars (4.7 million euros). This is below the 5.5 million dollars (5.6 million euros) that an advertiser paid in 2021 to broadcast a 30-second advertisement during the Super Bowl, the final of the American football championship. In 2022, the cost even reached up to 7 million dollars (7.16 million euros).
It remains to find a company capable of investing. It could be SpaceX. Geometric Energy Corp. (GEC), a Canadian start-up, would also work with Elon Musk’s company to develop a satellite with a large pixelated screen. It would be a question here of broadcasting in space and no longer visible from Earth.