Unless you have been living under a rock for the last two months, you know that the New England Patriots will be competing to complete only the second undefeated football season in NFL history, and the first in over three decades. But the implications of the most-watched television broadcast of the year go beyond the Patriots trying to make history.
The already immensely popular Super Bowl is going for a record of its own. Fox is predicting this Super Bowl to be the most popular of all time, and the network will be trying to break the record of 94.08 million viewers, attained in the 1996 Super Bowl when the Cowboys beat the Steelers. Last year's Colts-Bears Super Bowl came close, with over 93 million viewers.
Normally, Fox executives would be fretting with a Super Bowl that pits two teams located so close geographically against one another. But for them, the good news is that the two teams happen to be located in two of the biggest markets in the country. Coupled with the Patriots' quest for perfection and the Giants' storied run through the playoffs, this Super Bowl has a real chance to capture a record-breaking audience.
Fortunately for Fox, big audiences bring big budgets from advertisers. The Super Bowl is the biggest advertising event of the year, and it is very unique in that viewers pay as much attention to the commercials as they do the game.
This year, the average cost for a 30-second spot has reached $2.7 million, more than double what it was a decade ago. Even with the economic worries, most advertisers aren't second-guessing their decision to pay big money for TV spots.
Michael Pavone, president of brand consulting firm Pavone, discussed advantages of advertising in the Super Bowl. "It's all about value, [and] there's no other venue that gives your brand that kind of instant Americana," he said. Along with predicted record-breaking viewership, consumers are shelling out record-breaking amounts for Super Bowl tickets. Asking prices from scalpers are starting at around $2,500 for the nosebleeds, but range all the way up to $20,000.
The average price for a ticket that originally cost $700 is about $4,300. That's about $300 higher than the record set last year.
Network channels and ticket scalpers aren't the only ones making money off the Super Bowl. Plenty of industries bank on the classic American sporting event, including television and fast-food sales. Electronic industry experts are predicting that nearly four million televisions will be sold before the Super Bowl this Sunday, a 50 percent increase from last year.
Though a spike in television sales the week before the Super Bowl has been the norm for quite some time, that large of a figure might be shocking to some, as consumers curb their spending in other areas.
Retail expert Candace Corlett said people should not be surprised by the spending, however. "If you give consumers a good reason to spend, they will," she said. Especially with sales still going on after the holidays, and the recent trend of high-end television prices becoming more reasonable, consumers have been more willing to spend their money on the big-ticket item. And televisions are not the only thing consumers are buying; high-end surround-sound systems, furniture, and large sofas are also rolling out the doors in time for the big game.
On the lower end of the spending scale of the Super Bowl are fast-food chains - and more specifically - pizza chains. As the second-largest food consumption day in the United States (after Thanksgiving), pizza restaurants such as Domino's and Papa John's experience a huge spike in business. On average, Domino's business increases by 30 percent and Papa John's by 50 percent. So this Sunday (if you weren't lucky enough to get a ticket), kick back, grab a slice of pizza, and enjoy the game on your new 50-inch plasma. It's the American event, and it only comes once a year.
Be the first to comment on this article!