Not So Super Bowl?

Poll Reveals Most Participants Aren’t Watching The Game

The Super Bowl has consistently been the most watched TV event in the US for decades, but since the all-time record between the Patriots and Seahawks in 2015, with 114.4 million reported viewers, the numbers have been trending down.  Last year’s game drew 103.4 million viewers, the lowest total viewership for a Super Bowl since 2009.

A new poll conducted this week by Mei Messaging revealed 2/3 of its nearly 2,300 user respondents across the US do not plan to watch the game.

Out of the 2279 respondents, 65% answered that they’re not going to watch the game. And surprisingly, if we look at just male respondents, 60% of them said they won’t be watching.  Most interestingly, age doesn’t seem to affect the response.  The average age of both those saying yes and no were 21 years. 

When asked if they watched the game last year, 67% of all participants said no, so the percentage was fairly consistent year-over-year.

Patriots Favored To Win While The Fans Are Split

While other polls show that most people are rooting for the Rams, our numbers show the fans are about evenly split (54% said they want Rams to win).  When asked who they think will win, 67% picked the Patriots.

The Commercials Are 3.5x More Appealing Than The Game

Super Bowl isn’t just about the game. According to our poll, most people are tuning in to see the ads between the tackles. Of the 799 respondents who said they are watching the game this year, 60% are tuning in more for the commercials than the game itself (17%).

No wonder advertisers are willing to pay $5 million for a 30-second commercial.

Pepsi vs. Coke

Football isn’t the only battle on Sunday, as this year’s Super Bowl is bringing the “cola wars” to Coke’s home town. Pepsi is one of Super Bowl biggest sponsors and they have clearly marked their appearance in Atlanta with over 350 ads on billboards, recycling bins and walls of train stations. Punch-lines like “Pepsi in Atlanta. How Refreshing” and “Hey Atlanta, Thanks For Hosting. We’ll Bring The Drinks” are covering the city, but is it enough to win the battle?

When asking our poll respondents about which drink they prefer, 63% would pick Coke over Pepsi.