The NFL dominates the American sporting landscape, with 29 of its (32) franchises amongst the Top 50 most valuable sports teams in the world - including 6 in the top 10 - according to the most recent list published by Forbes. Boasting a successful, and therefore extremely valuable broadcast product remains a fundamental component here.
Take last Sunday’s Super Bowl, was the biggest ever, with some mind-blowing numbers including :
- Domestic viewing figures averaging 126 million, up 2% year-on-year, with peak viewership of 135.7 million. To put this into context, the 2024 Oscars hit an average (US) viewership of 19.5 million. (Source – Variety)
- Streaming viewership also at an all time high with 13.6 million watching via Tubi, a platform owned and operate by Fox, the host broadcaster. An additional audience of circa 1 million watched on the NFL’s own streaming platform NFL+. (Source – Variety)
- Legacy long-tail viewing compounds this reach. For example, Kendrick Lamar’s Half Time show has already clocked up 34.5 million views in the first 36 hours after being published on YouTube. (Dr Dre & friends from the LA Super Bowl a few years back is up to 328 million on the same platform)
Of course, the pop-cultural crossover appeal of artists like Kendrick and co help draw in a wide audience demo, and this multi-faceted dynamic extends beyond the half-time show, with Super Bowl advertising still holding firm as amongst the most expensive promotional real estate in the game, with strong celebrity appeal and cross generational cut through.
There’s something appealingly retro about good, old fashioned broadcast ad spots still maintaining relevancy in a fractious, multi-channel world – though YouTube viewing figures for each spot are typically used as a barometer for popularity – and much like the overall viewing figures for the big game, the trajectory for Super Bowl advertising is trending up.
Here are some key takeaways as to what’s happening and why.
- Fox sold at least 10 of the ad spots for more than $8million dollars, a new record price – an increase of $1million per spot year on year, with total ad revenue generation of over $600 million. Fragmentation of audiences – via streaming and on-demand platforms – leverages the Super Bowl’s value proposition, and it stands uniquely as a collective viewing experience. The Super Bowl brings together Boomers, Gen X’ers, Millennials & Gen Z in one place, at the same time
- Appropriate for old-school TV ad spend in the social media era, more retro-technique mainstays included the proliferation of celebrity – more than two thirds of ads featured big names with the usual gag-centric light touch favoured by many brands.
- But the stunt-casting, gag-tastic approach maintained by brands for many years, may be wearing thin. ‘Brands that stepped away from the usual Super Bowl celebrity/humour trope have attracted the most positivity,” said Ian Forrester, founder and CEO of agency Daivid.
- AI was firmly into the foreground, reminiscent of the early noughties’ dotcom 1.0 spots, including the first TV spot for Open AI. It didn’t drop particularly well, with USA Today’s Ad Meter ranking it dead last out of the 63 ads show in terms of audience sentiment. Ouch.
- Some brands leant into social media zeitgeist to drive the narrative including Uber, leveraging TikTok’s “We listen & we don’t judge” trend in an ad featuring a cross generational tandem of Charlie XCX & Martha Stewart. Expect this to continue, as will interactive ads, due to the continued rise in streaming.