Five big questions re: Super Bowl TV:
1) How many people watch the Super Bowl?
2) What share of Super Bowl viewership comes from streaming?
3) How much does running an ad during the Super Bowl cost?
4) How many ads do we watch during the Super Bowl?
5) How many people watch the halftime show?
Key details for Super Bowl TV production:
1) 6 sets
2) 165 total cameras
3) 5 skycams
4) 3 drones
5) 49 replay machines
Big question #1: How many people watch the Super Bowl?
Total viewership for the past 10 Super Bowls (YoY growth) according to Sports Media Watch:
1) 2014 – SEA-DEN (FOX) – 113.3M (↑ 4%)
2) 2015 – NE-SEA (NBC) – 115.8M (↑ 2%)
3) 2016 – DEN-CAR (CBS) – 113.7M (↓ 2%)
4) 2017 – NE-ATL (FOX) – 113.7M (↑ 0%)
5) 2018 – PHI-NE (NBC) – 118.0M (↑ 4%)
6) 2019 – NE-LAR (CBS) – 113.3M (↓ 4%)
7) 2020 – KC-SF (FOX) – 117.6M (↑ 4%)
8) 2021 – TB-KC (CBS) – 98.0M (↓ 17%)
9) 2022 – LAR-CIN (NBC) – 112.3M (↑ 15%)
10) 2023 – KC-PHI (FOX) – 115.1M (↑ 3%)
Big question #2: What share of Super Bowl viewership comes from streaming?
Streaming viewership by year (YoY growth) according to Sports Media Watch:
1) 2014 – 531K (↑ 5%)
2) 2015 – 973K (↑ 83%)
3) 2016 – 1.4M (↑ 44%)
4) 2017 – 1.7M (↑ 21%)
5) 2018 – 2.0M (↑ 19%)
6) 2019 – 2.6M (↑ 29%)
7) 2020 – 3.4M (↑ 31%)
8) 2021 – 5.7M (↑ 68%)
9) 2022 – 6.0M (↑ 5%)
10) 2023 – 7.0M (↑ 17%)
Streaming share of total viewership by year:
1) 2014 – 0.5%
2) 2015 – 0.8%
3) 2016 – 1.2%
4) 2017 – 1.5%
5) 2018 – 1.7%
6) 2019 – 2.3%
7) 2020 – 2.9%
8) 2021 – 5.8%
9) 2022 – 5.3%
10) 2023 – 6.1%
Big question #3: How much does running an ad during the Super Bowl cost?
Estimated cost per 30s spot by year (YoY growth) according to Kagan:
1) 2014 – $4.0M (↑ 6%)
2) 2015 – $4.4M (↑ 10%)
3) 2016 – $4.9M (↑ 11%)
4) 2017 – $5.0M (↑ 2%)
5) 2018- $5.1M (↑ 1%)
6) 2019 – $5.1M (↑ 1%)
7) 2020 – $5.3M (↑ 4%)
8) 2021 – $5.5M (↑ 4%)
9) 2022 – $6.2M (↑ 13%)
10) 2023 – $7.0M (↑ 13%)
11) 2024P – ≈ $7.0M
Wow: Producing each ad costs $15M – $22M, driving the total investment to $30M per spot!
Big question #4: How many ads do we watch during the Super Bowl?
Quick answer: 60+ ads covering ≈ 40 minutes
Minutes of ads per Super Bowl (YoY growth) according to Kantar Media/iSpot:
1) 2014 – 47:15 (↓ 9%)
2) 2015 – 48:05 (↑ 2%)
3) 2016 – 49:30 (↑ 3%)
4) 2017 – 51:30 (↑ 4%)
5) 2018 – 51:20 (↓ 0%)
6) 2019 – 49:31 (↓ 4%)
7) 2020 – 51:15 (↑ 4%)
8) 2021 – 42:00 (↓ 18%)
9) 2022 – 44:00 (↑ 5%)
10) 2023 – 39:30 (↓ 10%)
Big question #5: How many people watch the halftime show?
Quick answer: 120M+
Most-watched halftime shows according to Billboard:
1) Katy Perry (2015) – 121.1M
2) Rihanaa (2023) – 121.1M
3) Lady Gaga (2017) – 117.5M
4) Coldplay (2016) – 115.5M
5) Bruno Mars (2014) – 115.3M
Key details for the Super Bowl halftime show:
1) The performing artist is not paid
2) Production costs $13M+
3) 3K people work on the production
4) $30M+ in advertising revenue
