At last week’s Realscreen Summit, the turnout at our excellent panel on audience research indicated a strong interest by unscripted professionals in research tools and how they impact programming decisions.
I’ll post my findings from the panel soon.
Our discussion did touch on second-by-second ratings. Although Super Bowl XLIX is off our factual content focus, this fascinating chart from TiVo Research showcases a tool that is relied on by programmers and audience analysts across all genres.
Here is the Super Bowl-by-the-second chart followed by TiVo’s press release.
XLIX: Year of the #EmotionBowl
Emotions run high on the field and in commercials, but comedy is still king
SAN JOSE, Calif. – February 2, 2014 – TiVo Inc., the source of second-by-second data insight into Super Bowl® viewers’ most-watched commercials and moments*, today released this year’s top most-engaging Super Bowl commercials and moments from the game. While “Deflategate” may have dominated much of the talk leading up to the game, the recurring theme of comedy lost no air – despite the emotional spots attracting attention.
This year there were more serious, dramatic and sentimental spots than in previous Super Bowl broadcasts – including Budweiser’s ‘Lost Dog’ that won the top spot – but overall, comedy came through again with five of the top 10 spots having comedic appeal. This year, a public service announcement (PSA) ranked second with game viewers, ranking second among the top spots.
The top ten commercials and promotions from Super Bowl XLIX according to TiVo:
- Budweiser – ‘Lost Dog’ (Song by Sleeping at Last)
- Joyful Heart Foundation – ‘911 Delivery’
- Doritos – ‘Middle Seat’
- Nationwide Insurance – ‘Invisible Mindy Kaling’
- Supercell: Clash of Clans – ‘Revenge’ Feat with Liam Neeson
- FIAT 500X – ‘Blue Pill’
- Snickers – ‘The Brady Bunch’ featuring Danny Trejo
- Avocados From Mexico – ‘First Draft Ever’
- Coca-Cola – ‘Make Someone Happy’ (Song by Jimmy Durante)
- Nissan – ‘With Dad’ (Song by Harry Chapin)
TiVo Research is the only audience research service using second-by-second viewership data to rank top Super Bowl spots based on actual commercial retention relative to overall program viewership.
Super Bowl XLIX versus Super Bowl XLVIII by the numbers:
- There were only three beer spots in this year’s game, half the number aired in the previous two years
- There were five insurance spots, the combined total of the three prior Super Bowls
- There were ten movie spots. More than in the past two years combined (see list below)
- NBC aired 27 promos, 27, to the Fox count, 28, in 2014
- NBC aired 23 sixty second spots and 20 for Fox last year
- This year’s Super Bowl was a full 40 minutes longer than last year’s Seahawks blowout of the Denver Broncos
“From start to finish this year’s Super Bowl was full of emotion, but humorous spots still resonated the most with viewers. Our research highlights the most watched nail biting game moments, the always present humorous ads, as well as more substantive ads and a halftime performance of a lifetime,” said Tara Maitra, Senior Vice President, General Manager Content & Media Sales at TiVo. “TiVo Research’s second-by-second behavioral insights into Super Bowl viewership will again provide networks and brands access to the big data they need to optimize media efficiency.”
For the fifth year in a row, TiVo found viewership for the half-time show exceeding that of the overall game. Katy Perry did not disappoint, as the entire show was a jaw-dropping performance with superstar guest appearances. From fireworks inside and out of the stadium to Perry being suspended on a shooting star, Perry’s performance kept eyes glued to the television.
The top re-watched moments from the game itself were
- 22:04 the fight in the final seconds of the game,
- 22:00 Tom Brady and Richard Sherman’s reaction to Malcolm Butler’s goal-line interception, and
- 21:56 Jermaine Kearse’s crazy catch.
TiVo has been tracking and releasing its unique Super Bowl data for over a decade. Analysis of the past most-engaging advertisements and promotions with viewers shows that many have been comedy-based.
The top commercials of past Super Bowls include the following:
- 2004: Anheuser-Busch (Bud Light) – “Sleigh Ride“
- 2005: Emerald Nuts – “Unicorn“
- 2006: Ameriquest – “Friendly Skies”
- 2007: Anheuser-Busch (Bud Light) – “Language Course with Carlos Mencia“
- 2008: E*Trade – “Baby“
- 2009: GoDaddy.com – “Enhanced?“
- 2010: Doritos – “House Rules”
- 2011: Snickers – “Logging”
- 2012: Dorito’s – “Sling Baby“
- 2013: Taco Bell’s – “Viva Young”
- 2014: Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (Halftime)
The Super Bowl commercials can be viewed via your TiVo unit in the Super Bowl Commercials Collection. To the find the collection, click Browse TV & Movies and then click on the New & Notable category.
To view the Super Bowl commercials online, visit iSpot.tv, the only platform to track TV ads correlated with digital responses in real time.
| Methodology TiVo Research’s Super Bowl analysis was prepared using aggregated, anonymous, second-by-second audience measurement data from a sample of approximately 30,000 anonymous households with the Emmy®-award winning TiVo® service. TiVo Research gauges the interest in programming content by measuring the percentage of the TiVo audience watching in “play” speed. The most engaging ads and promotions are determined by looking for spots with the biggest bump in viewership relative to the surrounding 15 minutes of programming, offering a true reflection of change in viewership.About TiVo Research and Analytics, Inc.TiVo Research and Analytics, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of TiVo Inc., is a leading cross media research, measurement and analytics company whose solutions help advertisers, agencies and television networks improve advertising targeting, accountability and return on media investment. TiVo Research’s web-based Media TRAnalytics® and TV Health Ratings platforms match the TV and online advertising that householdsactually receive with the products that the same households actually buy, enabling clients to find “The Right Audience®” while providing an unmatched level of transparency, measurement, media planning/selling, and improved ROI. More information at: www.tivoresearch.com.About TiVo TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) is a global leader in next-generation television services. With global headquarters in San Jose, CA and offices in New York, NY, Boston, MA and Durham, NC, TiVo’s innovative cloud-based Software-as-a-Service solutions enable viewers to consume content across all screens in and out-of-the home. The TiVo solution provides an all-in-one approach for navigating the ‘content chaos’ by seamlessly combining live, recorded, on-demand, and over-the-top television into one intuitive user interface. The TiVo experience provides TV viewers with simple universal search, discovery, viewing and recording from an array of devices, creating the ultimate viewing experience. TiVo products and services are available at retail or through a growing number of pay- TV operators world-wide. TiVo’s multiple subsidiary companies provide the broader television industry and consumer electronics manufacturers with cloud-based video discovery and recommendation options, interactive advertising solutions, and audience research and measurement services. More information at: www.TiVo.com. |
“The most engaging ads and promotions are determined by looking for spots with the biggest bump in viewership relative to the surrounding 15 minutes of programming, offering a true reflection of change in viewership.” humm . . . Your really saying that there are more viewers for the advs than the game? And if the half time ratings are that high than it’s true, the super bowl is just biding time between commercials . . .