Super Bowl commercials are a big deal. Companies try to make them so, considering they cost millions of dollars to get on the air, and audiences have responded by paying much more attention than normal for commercials. But over the past few years, the only way to catch them in conjunction with the “big game” was to watch them on television – even though they could be seen online following the game. However, CBS looks to change that starting next year – and that could open up big possibilities for companies advertising during the yearly event.

A new report from Variety indicates that, starting with Super Bowl 50 next year, the company will live-stream both the game and its commercials in real-time (or as close as it can get to it) along with showing it on television. As a result, companies will now be able to consider not only TV ratings for the effectiveness of their ads, but also online impressions.

Several media buying agencies are already on board with the plan. “It’s a huge deal,” said one exec. “They are not going to let people opt out” of live-streaming.

In the past, TV ads and online ads have been sold separately, but with this new set-up, CBS could sell them together as a package deal, and perhaps even up the price in the process. With this, “a significant industry admission that the manner by which viewers are watching TV – or better, ‘consuming video’ – has, effectively, migrated to a variety of screen environments beyond the confines of just the TV set,” said Tim Hanlon, founder and chief executive for Chicago-based consultant Vertere Group. “Given that splintering of viewing behavior, why wouldn’t advertisers demand that the presenting broadcaster ensure that their expensive and heavily promoted ads are seen across every viewing environment by which the game is being watched ”

Now the only question is what kind of price increase this will bring to advertisers, as it already sits in the $4.5-$4.7 million range for a 30-second spot. While the company hasn’t made an official request, CBS Corp. CEO Leslie Moonves has stated that the network was looking somewhere “north of $5 million” for a 30-second spot. Despite the massive exposure, that could be a tight pinch for certain companies.

Still, it pays off, as a number of mobile companies benefitted from big ads, like Clash of Clans with its Liam Neeson spot and uCool with its Heroes Charge ad. And it’s likely to do the same again next year, thanks to a much bigger outreach online.