Yesterday, America celebrated the 50th anniversary of an incredibly important cultural phenomenon: the Super Bowl. Whether you're a fan of the Broncos or Panthers, or even a follower of football, odds are you probably had the big game on last night. But how do people celebrate the finale of the football season, and just how many tuned in to watch?
The Growth Of A Phenomenon
| Number of Super Bowl TV viewers | |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 73850000 |
| 1991 | 79510000 |
| 1992 | 79590000 |
| 1993 | 90990000 |
| 1994 | 90000000 |
| 1995 | 83420000 |
| 1996 | 94080000 |
| 1997 | 87870000 |
| 1998 | 90000000 |
| 1999 | 83720000 |
| 2000 | 88470000 |
| 2001 | 84340000 |
| 2002 | 86800000 |
| 2003 | 88640000 |
| 2004 | 89790000 |
| 2005 | 86070000 |
| 2006 | 90750000 |
| 2007 | 93180000 |
| 2008 | 97450000 |
| 2009 | 98730000 |
| 2010 | 106480000 |
| 2011 | 111000000 |
| 2012 | 111300000 |
| 2013 | 108400000 |
| 2014 | 111500000 |
| 2015 | 114400000 |
Over the past 25 years, the Super Bowl has become increasingly popular. In 2015, nearly 115 million people tuned in to watch the Super Bowl on TV, a number substantially larger than the almost 75 million that watched in 1990. To put that viewership in perspective, it is important to consider that the entire population of the United States is only about 320 million. Given the trend of increasing popularity, it is likely that more than one in three Americans watched the Broncos defeat the Panthers last night.
The Most Important Part Of The Super Bowl
| The game | 45 |
|---|---|
| The commercials | 23 |
| Getting together with friends | 15.7 |
| The half time show | 10.5 |
| Fun food prepared for the game | 5.8 |
There's a good reason why the Super Bowl is such a popular event: it has broad appeal across the nation. Even if you aren't a fan of football, there are a variety of other aspects that make the Super Bowl worth watching. According to a recent survey, in fact, only a little less than half of Super Bowl viewers claim their favorite part is the actual game. The commercials, the halftime show, the parties and the food are all other important parts of the Super Bowl.
What Do We Think Of The Commercials?
| I look at them as entertainment | They make me aware of advertiser brands | Advertisers should save their money and pass the savings on to us | They influence me to buy products from the advertisers | They make the game last too long | They influence me to search online for more information | They interrupt the game | They bother me | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % of viewers that think the following about Super Bowl commercials | 77.1 | 20.1 | 16.6 | 10.7 | 9.7 | 9.1 | 6.8 | 4.5 |
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the Super Bowl are the commercials. Advertisers pull out all of the stops to get viewers to pay attention to their commercials. The important question is, however, what do the viewers think about the Super Bowl commercials? According to a recent study by Proper Insights and Analytics, the vast majority of Americans simply view the advertisements as entertainment. Interestingly, however, nearly 40 percent of the public claims that the advertisements influence them to at least investigate the products.