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Most advertising slots for the 2009 Super Bowl that weren't sold in September still haven't moved, a change from earlier in the year when NBC announced the air time had been selling faster than usual.

Super Bowl regulars like FedEx Corp. (nyse: FDX - news - people ), Garmin Ltd. (nasdaq: GRMN - news - people ), Salesgenie.com and General Motors Corp. (nyse: GM - news - people ) are sitting out this year's football championship, to be held Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla. But NBC says it is negotiating with other potential advertisers for the eight 30-second advertising spots that remain open.

"We're hearing from a lot of companies," said Brian Walker, senior director of communications at NBC Sports in New York. "This is a time to show strength and confidence in their brands in a challenging economy,"

Walker said NBC had a total of around 67 spots for Super Bowl XLIII and has sold about 59, or 88 percent. In September, NBC said 85 percent of the 30-second spots had sold for about $3 million each. Typically, 60 percent of Super Bowl slots sell by then.

The National Football League championship is considered the premier advertising event of the year, and it often heralds new trends in advertising sales and styles.

Walker said NBC could technically sell ad spots up to the last minute before the event. He declined to say whether NBC - a unit of NBC Universal, which is owned by General Electric Co. (nyse: GE - news - people ) - is facing pressure from companies to discount rates.

GM, which bought airtime during the Super Bowl for about a decade, is cutting costs as part of a restructuring plan that was in place even before the automaker requested federal help.