Buyers: Sunday's
game will set a record
Majority think Super Bowl XLVI will exceed 111 million viewers
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jan 31, 2012
For the third straight year, the Super Bowl will set a record as the most-watched program in television history.
That's the prediction from media buyers and planners, responding to Media Life's annual pre-Super Bowl poll, where they weighed in on everything from how many people will watch the game to what the best ads will be to which team will actually win.
A firm majority think this year's contest, being played Sunday at 6 p.m. on NBC, will outdraw last year's, which averaged a record 111 million total viewers on Fox.
Asked to predict whether this year's game will attract more viewers, 64.5 percent said yes while only 35.5 percent said no.
Many think that this year's game will draw significantly more than last year. Media Life asked readers to predict how many will watch, and the most respondents, 30.9 percent, picked 113 million or more, 2 million better than last year.
Another 22.7 percent predicted the game will draw 112.1 million to 113 million. Ten percent chose 108.1 million to 111 million, and 9.1 percent chose 105.1 million to 108 million.
Credit for the strong viewership expected for this game goes to the matchup between the New York Giants and New England Patriots. Asked what the most important factor is in determining ratings for the game, 50 percent said it's the quality of the matchup.
Just under a third said it's the game itself and whether it's actually close, while 10 percent said it's the quality of the commercials and 7.3 percent said it's the network and how good a job it does putting on the game.
While commercials may not determine how many people watch the game, they are a major facet of the game, and this year it appears first-time advertiser Century 21 has the most anticipated ad among media buyers and planners.
Media Life asked which Super Bowl ad readers were most looking forward to seeing, and 41 percent chose to write in their own votes, with the vast majority of them naming the Century 21 ad that features Donald Trump and Deion Sanders.
Just under 16 percent said they're most excited about Anheuser-Busch's Bud and Bud Light ads, while 12.7 percent said they're looking forward to Volkswagen's spot, a follow-up on last year's extremely popular "Little Darth" ad.
Another 7.9 percent said they're excited about the Doritos user-generated ads, and 7.1 percent picked the Samsung ad that's expected to target rival Apple.
While media people think Sunday's game will break viewership records, they don't have very high hopes for the show that will air after the Super Bowl, NBC's second-season premiere of the hit singing show "The Voice."
Most readers think viewership will be below the episode of "Glee" that averaged 26.8 million total viewers after last year's game.
Fifty-one percent said fewer than 25 million will tune into "Voice," while just under 38 percent predicted that 25.1 million to 30 million will watch.
Just over 9 percent said that 30.1 to 40 million viewers will see the show, and 1.6 percent said more than 40.1 million.
Most readers, 52.8 percent, plan to stay home to watch this year's game, while 41.6 percent will head to a party and 2.4 percent will go to a restaurant or bar. Just over 3 percent said they do not plan to watch the game.
As for who will win, give it to the New England Patriots. Just over half of readers, 53.6 percent, said the Patriots will win, compared to 46.4 percent who said the New York Giants.
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