CEA Survey: Broadcast TV Still Super Bowl Champ

NBC's free stream notwithstanding, broadcast TV remains the Super Bowl venue of choice for those without a ticket to the big game.

According to a Consumer Electronics Association survey of the 79% of adults who say they plan to watch the game, 71% say they will watch it live on TV, while only 5% say they will watch it live online—NBC will stream the game live for free online.

Between those two percentages are a variety of viewing options for following the game: 8% say they will watch clips or highlights on broadcast TV; another 8% will follow via social media posts—Twitter, Facebook; 6% will watch online clips; 5% will follow news about the game online; 5% will DVR it for later viewing.

And among that same group, watching the game actually tops watching the ads: 46% say their favorite part of the game is, well, the game; 36% favor the commercials; 9% say their favorite part of the game is food; 8% says it is the halftime show and the comradery of watching with friends.

According to CEA, "the survey, Sports and Technology Study, 6th Edition,  was administered via Internet web form among a demographically representative online U.S. sample of 1,014 adults between January 7-12, 2015.  The margin of error at a 95% confidence for aggregate results is +/-3.1%."

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.