In the U.S., the Super Bowl is consistently among the most-watched television events each year. And in a market that loves its football, networks are capitalizing on the hype by steadily ramping up their coverage leading up to the big game. According to Nielsen, broadcast and cable networks unleashed 462 hours of football coverage during the two weeks between this year’s conference championships and Super Bowl XLVII, up 13 percent from 2012 and 17 percent from 2009.
“Between future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis, San Francisco’s rookie quarterback and ’Harbowl,’ this year’s storylines were fantastic, and people couldn’t get enough,” said Stephen Master, SVP of Sports at Nielsen. “Football continues to draw more and more viewers each season, and the weeks leading into the Super Bowl are the perfect time for networks to capitalize on consumers’ appetite for the game.“
| Year | Super Bowl | Teams | Total Coverage (in HH:MM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Super Bowl XLVII | San Francisco / BALTIMORE | 462:18 |
| 2012 | Super Bowl XLVI | NEW YORK / New England | 407:24 |
| 2011 | Super Bowl XLV | GREEN BAY / Pittsburgh | 380:00 |
| 2010 | Super Bowl XLIV | NEW ORLEANS / Indianapolis | 402:36 |
| 2009 | Super Bowl XLIII | Arizona / PITTSBURGH | 395:24 |
| Read as: In the two weeks leading up to Super Bowl XLVII, there was 462 hours, 18 minutes of football-related TV programming.
Source: Nielsen |
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For more sports-related insights, download Nielsen’s State of the Media: 2012 Year in Sports.
Total duration for all “NFL Football” and “Pro Football” (detail type codes) programming the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, including the day of the game (the Monday after Conference Championships through pre-game coverage the day of Super Bowl). Among broadcast and cable networks who supply program names to Nielsen.