Daring Fireball sponsorship openings include a Christmas-week site placement and several dates in 2027, according to a schedule published by John Gruber. In an October 30 post, Gruber said a newly available slot for the following week had already sold, leaving the Dec. 21-27 placement as the next opening. That quick change is a useful warning against treating an ad inventory page like a carved stone tablet.
The published schedule lists the Dec. 21-27 week at $11,000. It also gives a 2027 weekly rate of $12,500 and marks these periods as available: Jan. 18-24; Feb. 1-7; Feb. 15-21; March 1-7; March 15-21; March 29-April 4; and April 26-May 2. Those listings reflect the supplied schedule, not a promise that the slots remain unsold.
Gruber wrote that more than half of the Q1 and Q2 2027 weekly placements were already sold. Prospective advertisers should confirm dates directly with him before treating any listed week as inventory.
What does a Daring Fireball weekly sponsorship include?
Daring Fireball says a week-long buy places a display ad in the site sidebar on every page for the week. The sponsor also receives an RSS-feed post at the beginning of the week and a later post that thanks and links to the sponsor. The package is exclusive, with one site sponsor assigned to each week.
The site describes its audience figures as 150,000 typical weekday unique visitors, an estimated 2.5 million monthly unique visitors, and more than 200,000 RSS subscribers. Those are Daring Fireball’s own estimates, rather than independently audited circulation numbers.
The Talk Show has separate sponsorship inventory
Gruber also said The Talk Show had openings for upcoming November and December episodes. He put the usual podcast price at about one-third of a Daring Fireball weekly sponsorship and said first-time sponsors might be able to negotiate a lower rate.
Using Gruber’s rule of thumb, one-third of an $11,000 site week is about $3,667, while one-third of a $12,500 2027 week is about $4,167. Those are rough comparisons, not published Talk Show rates or guaranteed quotes.
For a Daring Fireball site sponsorship, Gruber directs advertisers to email him. He uses a separate Talk Show sponsorship inquiry for podcast placements. The Oct. 30 update showed why that direct check matters: the next-week opening disappeared between the initial post and its update.
This story draws on original reporting from Daring Fireball.
