One In Three Super Bowl Viewers Watch Ads, Not The Game

YouGov
February 01, 2013, 5:00 PM GMT+0

(Week of 1/26/2013) On Sunday, record numbers of Americans will watch the Super Bowl XLVII contest between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens. But the latest Economist/YouGov Poll suggests that about one in three of those viewers will be watching more for the ads – each of which will cost about $3.8 million for 30 seconds of airtime.

The Super Bowl is truly a national event. Two in three adults say they will watch at least some of the game, with viewership coming from pretty much all demographics, income and political groups. Democrats and Republicans will be watching. Women are not necessarily as drawn to the event as men are, though. 39% of women don’t intend to watch at all, compared with just 26% of men. And those women who are watching are much more likely than male viewers to be watching for the commercials instead of the game. In fact, while three times as many men are watching for the game than for the commercials, women are closely divided.