The Super Bowl is eagerly awaited by sports fans and advertisers alike. In fact, according to a recent Neilsen Company survey, the majority of Super Bowl viewers enjoy the game’s ads more than the action on the field.
Fifty-one per cent of those questioned said they most enjoy the commercials that air throughout the game, compared to the game itself. Results were based on a sample of more than 25,000 households in Nielsen’s Homescan panel.
So Videotron’s announcement that it will carry the CBS HD feed of the event –uncut, but certainly commercially interrupted – appears a popular one.
The full, uncut broadcast of the Super Bowl with U.S. commercials will be available to subscribers equipped with an illico Digital TV HD set-top box and access to Videotron’s HD service.
“In addition to seeing the new U.S. commercials, illico Digital TV subscribers will be able to watch the annual sports extravaganza with unparalleled picture and sound,” said Myrianne Collin, Vice President, Marketing, Consumer Sector. “And this year, football fans will be treated to more pre-game shows than ever before.”
The Super Bowl is seen as a marketing bonanza, with one the most receptive TV audiences in the world, said Randall Beard, executive vice president of Nielsen IAG. “With so many viewers waiting for the pitch, the pressure is on advertisers to create and place ads that will have a lasting impact.”
Interestingly, it is important to score first in the Super Bowl, both for the football teams and the advertisers. Ads placed in the first quarter of the Super Bowl are better remembered and are better liked, Neilsen noted. There is a steep drop-off as the game progresses until the fourth quarter, when ad performance settles at a level that is closer to the average for all television ads.
Have your say: