Real Costs to Advertise on a Times Square Billboard

So you’re walking through Midtown Manhattan, dodging taxis and tourists, and suddenly you’re bathed in light like you’ve just stepped into a spaceship. Above you, dozens of colossal LED screens fight for your attention—ads for everything from luxury watches to TikTok stars.

This is Times Square: the pulsing, hyper-lit heart of New York City advertising. Times Square billboards are the pinnacle.

For brands, there’s no bigger flex than showing up here in this prime location. But how much does it really cost to rent one of these screens and plaster your message to the masses? Let’s pull back the curtain.

The Price Tag Nobody Talks About—Until They Ask

You might assume it’s a flat fee to show your brand in Times Square. Spoiler alert: it’s not. The cost can swing wildly depending on location, size, duration, time of year, and even who you’re buying the space from.

For example, a prime digital billboard right above the iconic Red Steps can run you anywhere from $1.1 million to $4 million per year. That’s a serious commitment, the global scale kind that comes with boardroom PowerPoints and many nervous glances at ROI spreadsheets.

But if you’re looking for something short-term – say, a one-day campaign on a smaller screen—it might “only” cost $5,000 to $50,000, depending on the time slot and traffic.

It’s a massive range, but that’s the game of this sort of outdoor advertising. You’re not just paying for screen time. You’re paying for eyeballs, prestige, and the chance to shout louder than your competitors in the loudest place on Earth.

Designing for Impact in a Digital Jungle

Creating content for Times Square isn’t just about bold visuals—it’s about adapting your creativity for a high-speed, multi-format world. Whether you’re mocking up early concepts or finalizing assets, flexibility matters.

Online tools can save you serious time during those frantic last-minute revisions. Sometimes you need to convert a PDF to a JPG to quickly share a visual proof with a client or your executive team, tweak something on the fly, especially when you’re juggling multiple formats for different screens.

In an iconic location like Times Square, your content only has seconds to catch a passerby’s eye to make significant impact. Even on a massive billboard, every pixel – and every second – counts.

Location, Location, Times Square

Times Square is much more than a New Year’s Eve celebration. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations and one of the most iconic places in the United States – or the world for that matter. In spite of having a global audience, not all billboards in Times Square are created equal.

There’s a hierarchy, like real estate royalty. North of 42nd Street, there’s the “Bowtie” – where Broadway and Seventh Avenue intersect. The heart of the Bowtie is indeed the heart of Times Square. In the world of advertising space, this is considered “the golden zone.” Ads here are seen by approximately 300,000 people a day, not even counting online impressions from social media posts and live cams.

The closer your screen is to the center of this visual vortex, the more zeroes you’re tacking onto your invoice. If you’re farther down Seventh Avenue or tucked away on 46th or 47th Street, the foot traffic and exposure drop—and so does the price. But even the “lesser” billboards have high visibility and carry serious weight. After all, it is still Times Square!

Short-Term Stints vs. Long-Term Campaigns

Here’s where things get interesting. Not every brand is shelling out seven figures to run an ad for a whole year. Some are just pulling off a flashy PR stunt—a 15-second ad spot that loops every few minutes for a single day. Sometimes they can appear on an exact hourly time slot on a daily basis for a set period of time. These are often tied to product launches, celebrity partnerships, or viral campaigns.

The prices?

Again, they vary. But you could rent a decent digital screen for 15 seconds of fame for $10,000 to $30,000. Some startups and influencers from social media platforms even crowdfund their way onto the boards just to make a statement.

And you know what? It works.

The photos end up everywhere, and suddenly everyone’s asking, “Did you see that billboard in Times Square?”

The Hidden Costs Nobody Tells You About

You think once you’ve paid for screen time, you’re done? Not quite. You also have to produce the ad. If you want it to make a lasting impression, it had better not look like it was made in iMovie. High-resolution digital content, full-motion video, video editing, creative design, copywriting—it all adds up.

Then there’s the coordination with the media owner, the approvals, the format specs. Some screens are vertical, some horizontal, and some wrap around buildings like digital wallpaper. Your content has to fit the specifics of these digital screens perfectly

Oh, and did we mention creative rotations? You can’t just throw up the same image for 12 hours and hope for magic. You’ll likely want different versions running at different times to connect with a constantly changing, diverse audience. That means even more production costs.

Who’s Actually Advertising Here – and Why?

It’s not just big-box brands and tech giants. Times Square plays host to a wild mix of advertisers. You have K-pop fandoms renting entire screens for their idol’s birthday, foreign governments showcasing tourism ads, Broadway shows promoting opening nights, and legacy brands reinforcing their dominance.

You might even see a random marriage proposal.

Some companies are here just for credibility. Showing up in Times Square is a unique opportunity and sends a message: “We’ve made it.” For others, it’s part of a broader strategy to connect with their target audience – one touchpoint in a campaign that spans digital, social, and television.

But make no mistake: when decide to take advantage of Times Square advertising over traditional media outlets, displayed to an international audience of visitors, people notice.

The Digital Factor: Static is Out, Motion is In

The new Times Square isn’t about traditional vinyl billboards. It’s a playground of massive LED displays, interactive content, and motion graphics. If your ad isn’t moving, glowing, or doing something unexpected, it will get swallowed up in the visual noise.

Most screens run on a loop, and you typically buy a 15- or 30-second spot that rotates every few minutes. With digital content, there’s also the opportunity to update it in real-time—think countdowns, weather-driven creatives, or live social media feeds. But again, the more complex the content, the higher the production cost. Still, if you’re going to do Times Square, you might as well go big.

Beyond the Billboard: The Viral Afterlife

Here’s the part a lot of people miss: the billboard itself is just the beginning. The real value often kicks in once the ad hits social media. Tourists and influencers love snapping photos and videos of Times Square. A clever ad with the right design can end up on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube within minutes. It’s like being displayed on a “second” billboard.

Some campaigns are engineered for this – ad agencies even hire influencers to stage reactions in front of the board to juice “virality.” You’re not just buying screen space; you’re investing in a moment that can live far beyond 42nd Street.

That depends on what you’re after. If you’re a global brand looking to flex and get visibility, Times Square is one of the biggest stages on Earth. If you’re a startup or indie artist looking for buzz, a short-term placement might be the best publicity stunt you’ll ever pull.

Regardless of the reasons behind your digital campaigns, don’t go in thinking it’s just about renting ad space on a screen. It’s about creating a spectacle, a moment people want to talk about. For that, you’ll need more than just a budget – you will need a damn good idea.

Let’s be honest: Times Square isn’t just a place. It’s a show. And if you want to be part of it, you had better bring your best.