Survey: Pandemic Fears Dampen Enthusiasm for Super Bowl Parties

AdColony
(Image credit: AdColony)

CENTURY CITY, Calif.—Amid rising Coronavirus cases around the country, a new survey from AdColony finds that a majority of Americans (54%) won’t be hosting or attending the traditional Super Bowl party.

That, however, doesn’t seem to have dampened the interest in the big game at a time when playoff games have produced record ratings. The Saturday January 22 game on Fox between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers, for example, was the highest rated Saturday telecast since 1984 according to Fox Sports. . 

The AdColony survey found many people who are not avid football fans will watch the Super Bowl, with about 65% of the projected audience being made up of people who do not watch football games weekly, according to AdColony. 

That enthusiasm also will help make it a multiplatform event, with 59% of respondents planning to keep up with the game on multiple devices, a 16% increase from 2021. More than half (53%) of viewers will look to connected TV to provide stats/content from the big game and 36% will use a mobile device.

During the game, 47% of those surveyed said they plan to text, 43% said they will browse social media apps, 25% said they will use a device to order food delivery and 25% will play mobile games. 

Among the devices, however, the big screen TV remains king, with 68% planning to watch on broadcast TV, followed by a connected TV at 27%, and mobile devices at 10%. 

With advertisers spending big bucks to produce and air Super Bowl ads, 85% of viewers surveyed said they are interested in the ads aired during the big game.  

The survey also found that consumers say they are most interested in funny ads, with 84% saying they are looking for some comedy, followed by ads that are emotional/heartwarming (36%), have a celebrity cameo (29%) or something with a political/social message (12%), according to AdColony. 

The ads will also have an impact after the game, with more than half of consumers (51%) saying that they are likely to look up an ad that aired during the big game and watch it again; 69% saying they are likely to discuss the ads on their smartphone during and after the game; and 40% saying they are likely to purchase a product or service seen in an ad. 

AdColony is a digital turbine company. More information from the survey can be found here

(Image credit: Ad Colony)
George Winslow

George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.