The Super Bowl rebounded to draw an estimated 101.1 million television viewers who saw the Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals on a late-game drive, proving the dominance of football as an audience magnet.
That was a 6% increase over the 95.2 million TV viewers who saw the Tampa Bay Bucs crowned as champions in 2021, the Nielsen company said Tuesday.
The ratings improvement for what is traditionally the most-watched event of the year was no surprise, given the run of terrific playoff games leading up to it. Viewership for the NFL’s divisional round was up 20% over last year, and the conference championships were up 10%, Nielsen said.
Besides the good games, a sense — or hope — that the coronavirus pandemic may be winding down might have contributed to the increased audience, said Cole Strain, head of measurement for the research firm Samba TV.
“We felt there was a little more freedom,” Strain said.
The halftime show starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Mary K. Blige was also a hit, and NBC expressed hope that the game’s halo will kick-start ratings for the otherwise disappointing Winter Olympics in Beijing.
NBC said another 11.2 million people streamed this year’s game, putting the total audience at 112.3 million people. The audience for television and streaming combined is up 12.6% over last year.
For its hometown Bengals, Cincinnati had the highest audience share in the country, meaning the percentage of television viewers watching the game, Nielsen said. Los Angeles didn’t even make the top 10 markets.
The most-watched Super Bowl ever remains the 2015 game between New England and Seattle, which had 114.4 million viewers. Last year’s slip gave rise to some thinking that the NFL wasn’t immune to the overall drop in audience that afflicts virtually all television programs, but this year the NFL defied that gravity.
Live television viewing in the last three months of 2021 was up over the previous year, and that can be attributed solely to football, Strain said.
Nielsen estimated that 103.4 million television viewers watched the Super Bowl halftime show, and Samba’s data illustrated how it is become an event in itself. Samba estimated that 379,000 households, or roughly more than a million people, tuned in for the halftime show and left after it was done. Another 1.2 million households, or more than 3 million people, tuned in first for the show and stayed for the game’s second half.
“This year was a very big standout in terms of the halftime show performers versus the last year,” Strain said. It was the first-time rap artists took center stage at halftime.
As a result, Samba said the 15 most-watched commercials came either just before, during or just after the halftime show.
That represents a change from the time advertisers jockeyed to get their ads placed early in the game or, if they were feeling lucky, late in the fourth quarter to take advantage of a suspenseful finish.
Nielsen said 21.3 million people stuck around after the game to watch Olympics programming. NBC specifically requested to broadcast a Super Bowl during a Winter Olympics year in the hope that each event would benefit the other, and its executives said they hoped to take the same approach in the future.
Late last year, Nielsen adjusted its estimate of viewership for the 2021 Super Bowl from 92 million to 95.2 million, saying it had undercounted the number of people who watched the game outside of their homes.
This February 13, the 56th edition of the Super Bowl took place. The American football game was played between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals, and like every year it had a great live show.
The American football match in the United States usually generates great expectation for what happens at the halftime show. On this occasion, several historical rap figures were on stage and caused great euphoria among millions of people.
The Super Bowl party was kicked off with the presence of Dwayne Johnson, who added a great touch by having the attitude that catapulted him as ‘The Rock’ in WWE wrestling.
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick had already been announced for the halftime presentation and managed to thrill hundreds of people; In addition, the spectators had a great surprise with the appearance of 50 Cent, an artist that had not been announced.
Photo: EFE.
You may also be interested in: Snoop Dogg, Eminem and other artists who performed at the Super Bowl LVI halftime show
Why did Eminem’s gesture in the Super Bowl cause so much furor in networks?
During his presentation at the Super Bowl Halftime, Eminem knelt on stage and it was one of the most striking moments of the main sporting event in the US.
The rapper at the end of his presentation made this gesture evoking the very controversial protest of former player Colin Kaepernick, who in 2016 knelt during the national anthem to demonstrate against police violence against black communities in the North American country.
Some media assured that this controversial gesture, which several footballers have also done, the NFL would have forbidden Eminem to do. However, the BBC He assured that the National Football League (NFL) in a statement clarified that if there was no such prohibition for players, “much less would there be for the musicians who participated in this event.”
How was the final result of the meeting between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals?
With a final comeback, the Los Angeles Rams managed to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in their brand new SoFi Stadium and won the second Super Bowl title in their history.
A touchdown by star receiver Cooper Kupp with a minute and 35 seconds remaining gave the Rams their first championship since 1999 when they were based in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Rams thus succeed Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL record, with whom they form an exclusive club of franchises that have lifted the Super Bowl title in their own stadium.
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BOGOTA COLOMBIA). Monday, February 14, 2022 (RPTV NEWS AGENCY). The halftime of the Super Bowl is the most anticipated show of the year, since it brings together great artists, on this occasion the rappers Eminem and Snoop Dogg were in charge of giving joy to the show in the Super Bowl.
Eminem starred in an image to remember this Super Bowl LVI, the rapper knelt on stage evoking the protest act of the former Kansas City Chiefs player, Colin Kaepernick, in repudiation of racism and police violence against African Americans.
According to several American portals, the NFL would have prohibited the rapper from making this gesture, however, Eminem ignored the recommendations and made the expression that went viral.
The Los Angeles Rams staged a late comeback Sunday night, scoring a touchdown in the final two minutes to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in the National Football League’s Super Bowl.
After holding a 13-10 lead at halftime, the Rams fell behind quickly in the second half, yielding a 75-yard touchdown to Bengals receiver Tee Higgins.
Cincinnati went into the final quarter ahead 20-16, but could not add to its lead.
With just over six minutes left in the game, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford led a 15-play, five-minute drive that covered 79 yards and finished with the game-winning one-yard touchdown pass to receiver Cooper Kupp.
General view of the interior of SoFi Stadium from an elevated position during Super Bowl 56 football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
The Bengals were only able to get to midfield in their last-gasp drive before turning the ball over on downs, setting off celebrations on the Rams’ sideline.
Kupp was named the game’s most valuable player, finishing with eight catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns.
“I don’t feel deserving of this,” Kupp said when asked about the award after the game. “The guys standing here challenged me, they pushed me. I am just so grateful.”
Los Angeles coach Sean McVay became the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl at age 36.
The Rams, who returned to Los Angeles in 2016 after playing more than 20 years in St. Louis, are the second team to ever win a Super Bowl in their home stadium, following Tampa Bay’s win at home last year. Sunday’s victory was the franchise’s first Super Bowl win since the 1999 season.
The Bengals were playing in their first Super Bowl since the 1988 season.
NEW YORK — Super Bowl advertisers this year want Americans to forget about pandemic woes and focus on the future: of electric vehicles, mind reading Alexas, robots and cryptocurrency — and also to harken back to the nostalgic past of ’90s movies like “Austin Powers” and “The Cable Guy.”
The Los Angeles Rams are taking on the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl 56 on Sunday at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. But for many, the big show of the night will be the commercials.
Advertisers are hoping to deliver a dose of escapism with light humor and star-studded entertainment amid the pandemic, high inflation and tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
“Marketers are recognizing Americans have had a very heavy, difficult two-year period and are responding by bringing some good old-fashioned entertainment for Super Bowl Sunday,” said Kimberly Whitler, marketing professor at the University of Virginia.
NBC sold out of its ad space briskly and said an undisclosed number of 30-second spots went for $7 million, a jump from the $6.5 million that last year’s ads went for.
Super Bowl viewership has declined in recent years. Last year, 92 million people tuned in, according to Nielsen, the lowest viewership since 2007. But viewership at other big live events like the Grammys and the Oscars has also plummeted. Ratings for the Olympics — which NBC is broadcasting concurrent with the Super Bowl — are way down, too. So the Super Bowl remains the biggest night for advertisers.
“It’s the only game in town,” said Villanova marketing professor Charles Taylor.
This year’s ads will be amusing and warm, leading Kelly O’Keefe, CEO of brand consultancy Brand Federation, to dub this year the “Ted Lasso Super Bowl.” It’s not just because two of the Apple+ sitcoms’ stars are starring in ads — Jason Sudeikis for TurboTax and Hannah Waddingham for Rakuten.
It’s because the ads, like the sitcom, will be “nothing too heavy,” O’Keefe said. “It’s funny, positive, and makes you happy — but doesn’t go too deep.”
Future forward
What does the future look like? Electric, if automakers have anything to do with it. With automakers back in full force this Super Bowl, BMW shows Arnold Schwarzenegger as Zeus, the god of the sky (or in this commercial, the god of lightning) whose wife, Salma Hayek Pinault, gives him the EV BMW iX to spice up retirement.
Kia showcases the Kia EV6, the brand’s first battery electric vehicle, in its ad, along with a cute “robo dog.” Nissan gives a nod to its all-electric 2023 Nissan Ariya.
This photo provided by Nissan shows a scene from Nissan’s Super Bowl NFL football spot.
A first-time advertiser, Wallbox, showcases an actual survivor of being struck by lightning in its ad for its home electric vehicle charger.
Other advertisers are future forward, too. Amazon’s spot shows real-life spouses living in a world where Amazon’s digital assistant Alexa can read your mind. In a regional ad, Samuel Adams shows Spot, the dancing robo-dog from Boston Dynamics, getting down with the brewer’s employees.
Bud Light NEXT, a new zero-carb Bud Light brand expansion, showcases an NFT in its ad. And Facebook gives a glimpse of its vision of the metaverse in a humorous ad that shows a discarded animatronic dog meeting up with his pals again in the metaverse.
Crypto bowl
Among the 30 new advertisers are several cryptocurrency exchanges. Advocates of the blockchain-based digital currencies that have captured the interest of investors and financial service firms alike, want to lure regular Americans too. Exchanges Crypto.com, FTX and eToro have all announced Super Bowl ad plans, and others have been rumored but not confirmed.
While the Super Bowl can be a good place to launch a new brand or category into the public consciousness, there are risks of getting lost in the shuffle as first-time advertisers. And they have a big task with 30 seconds.
“They need to educate the public on what their product is, why it’s not risky, and where they can access it,” Villanova’s Taylor said.
Pop culture nostalgia
Nostalgia is always a safe bet to win over viewers, and this year’s Super Bowl is no different.
In a teaser, Verizon hints that it’s bringing back Jim Carrey to reprise his loathsome 1996 “Cable Guy” character for their ad. GM has enlisted Mike Myers for an “Austin Powers”-themed ad that features a reprise of his role as Austin Powers’ nemesis, Dr. Evil. Sidekicks played by Rob Lowe, Seth Green and Mindy Sterling also join.
And some ad executives are hoping people can still remember iconic advertising as well. ETrade hinted in a teaser that it’s bringing back the spokesbaby that appeared in its Super Bowl ads from 2008 to 2014. A Hellmann’s ad shows former New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo tackling unsuspecting people who waste food. The ad is an homage to a 2003 Reebok Super Bowl ad starring a fictional linebacker named Terry Tate who tackled office workers who weren’t being productive.
Celebrity overload
A well-liked celebrity generally adds some goodwill to a brand message. So how about three to five of them? Super Bowl ads are always stuffed with celebrities, but this year, many ads are overstuffed with them.
“I’ve ever seen anything like this number of A-List celebrities,” said Villanova’s Taylor.
Uber Eats wanted to get across the message that you can order household items and other sundries from its delivery service, not just food. So its ad shows celebrities and other actors trying to eat everything from cat litter to diapers. “If it was delivered by Uber Eats, does that mean I can ‘Eats’ it?” White Lotus actor Jennifer Coolidge asks. Gwyneth Paltrow tries to eat a candle, Trevor Noah tries to eat a light bulb and Nicholas Braun from “Succession” tries to eat dish soap.
In Michelob Ultra’s ad, a bowling alley run by Steve Buscemi unites superstar athletes from across sports enjoying some bowling in their off time: tennis great Serena Williams, former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, the NBA’s Miami Heat all-star forward Jimmy Butler, WNBA star Nneka Ogwumike, top golfer Brooks Koepka and U.S. women’s soccer star Alex Morgan.
Planet Fitness’ ad has narration by William Shatner and shows Lindsay Lohan working out, winning Jeopardy against Dennis Rodman and bedazzling Danny Trejo’s ankle bracelet.
And in Nissan’s ad, a straight-laced Eugene Levy is transformed into an action hero by taking a drive in a 2023 Nissan Z sports car, alongside stars Danai Gurira and Dave Bautista. Levy’s “Schitt’s Creek” co-star Catherine O’Hara appears in Nissan’s new Ariya electric car.
Social messages
Most advertisers are steering clear of sentiment.
“People are avoiding the deeper issues,” said Brand Federation’s O’Keefe. “People aren’t going to try to unite us or divide us or get us to think deeply. Ads will be much more amusing. But also very safe.”
A few, though, are delivering heartfelt messages.
The Budweiser brand, absent last year, returns with a spot centered on one of its Clydesdale mascots. After it’s injured by jumping a barbed wire fence — a not-so-subtle reference to the U.S. and the coronavirus pandemic — another Budweiser mascot, a Labrador, a stableman, and a vet, help the Clydesdale recover and gallop again. Budweiser wanted to return “with a message of strength and resilience,” said Daniel Blake, group vice president at Anheuser-Busch.
Google’s ad for the Pixel 6 stars the singer Lizzo and focuses on how the phone’s camera highlights darker skin tones. And Toyota’s ad, which debuted during the Olympics but will also run during the Super Bowl, tells the story of the McKeever Brothers, cross-country skiers who have won 10 Paralympic medals together.
A star-studded Los Angeles Rams team will seek to deny the giant-killing Cincinnati Bengals a Hollywood ending in the Super Bowl on Sunday as an NFL season full of plot twists reaches its climax.
The first NFL championship game of the post-Tom Brady era sees the Rams play host at their gleaming $5.5 billion SoFi Stadium against a Bengals side chasing a first Super Bowl crown.
Around 100 million Americans are expected to tune in for the biggest annual event on the U.S. sporting calendar, which kicks off at 3:30 p.m. local time (2330 GMT).
“It’s game day!” the National Football League proclaimed on Twitter. “It all comes down to this moment.”
The perfectly scripted season finale will see a duel between two talented quarterbacks playing in the Super Bowl for the first time, with Rams veteran Matthew Stafford pitted against the rising Bengals star Joe Burrow.
A Bengals victory would complete one of the most striking turnarounds in NFL history.
Last season, the team finished with four wins and 11 defeats, only slightly better than their 2019 campaign, which ended in a dismal 2-14 record.
But under head coach Zac Taylor, and buoyed by the arrival of No.1 draft pick Burrow in 2020, the Bengals are a team transformed.
A dogged, never-say-die approach characterized their post-season campaign, which saw them shock AFC top seeds Tennessee before another upset on the road over mighty Kansas City sealed their Super Bowl berth.
Whether Burrow is afforded the time and space to craft one more Bengals upset is another question altogether, however.
A porous offensive line allowed him to be sacked a whopping nine times during the playoff win over Tennessee.
That is a stat that the formidable Rams defense, led by the human wrecking ball Aaron Donald, the best defensive player in the NFL, and veteran pass rusher Von Miller, will have taken note of.
On the offensive side, meanwhile, the Rams have more than enough weapons to puncture the Bengals defense.
The 34-year-old Stafford, playing in his first Super Bowl, has an array of targets to aim for, including Cooper Kupp, the best wide receiver in the NFL this season, and Odell Beckham, Jr., the charismatic former New York Giants and Cleveland Browns receiver who has flourished since joining the Rams in mid-season.
As well as enjoying home advantage in what is the first Los Angeles-area Super Bowl since 1993, the Rams also have the benefit of having recent experience of the NFL Championship game.
Many members of Sunday’s line-up were on the losing side when the Rams were beaten 13-3 by the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl in 2019.
Rams head coach Sean McVay — who at 36 years and 20 days old would become the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl with victory on Sunday — was upbeat after overseeing a final team walkthrough Saturday.
“We’re very confident,” McVay said. “We’re ready to go. There’s a good look in their eyes.
“I think there’s a good urgency, but also I just have a good feel about this team. I feel excited to watch them go and do their thing.”
The Rams will be playing in front of a packed crowd of 70,000, while the traditional half-time music concert will feature the likes of Eminem, Mary J. Blige and hip-hop icons Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar.
The capacity crowd also contrasts with last season’s Super Bowl in Tampa, where attendance was limited to around 25,000 fans due to COVID-19.
While the omicron variant surge is in retreat in Los Angeles, authorities are requiring all attendees Sunday to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test, with masking mandatory.
Americans are getting ready for the Super Bowl on Sunday. It’s the final matchup of the National Football League season and a national celebration. Mike O’Sullivan reports from Los Angeles, where the Los Angeles Rams will face the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Jacksonville Jaguars announced Doug Pederson, champion with the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII, on Thursday as their new coach for the 2022 NFL season.
“Four years ago Doug won a Super Bowl, I hope he can replicate that magic here in Jacksonville, but what is certain is his proven leadership and experience as a winning coach in the NFL,” was the welcome message from team owner Shad Khan.
