{"id":707,"date":"2021-01-27T11:54:30","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T16:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/?p=707"},"modified":"2021-02-03T13:15:41","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T18:15:41","slug":"covid-19s-impact-on-the-super-bowl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/2021\/01\/27\/covid-19s-impact-on-the-super-bowl\/","title":{"rendered":"Covid-19\u2019s Impact on the Super Bowl"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Nearly Half Expect Game to be Less Exciting Than Previous Years;
\nNearly Two-Thirds Won\u2019t Attend Watch Parties With Others <\/strong><\/p>\n

42 Percent Say They Will Not Watch, Though More Using Smart Devices, Less TV<\/em>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Orange NJ, January 27, 2021\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The Covid-19 virus will seemingly have an impact on this year\u2019s Super Bowl, with almost half of respondents to a Seton Hall Sports Poll saying they expected the game to be less exciting, and nearly two-thirds saying they will stay home and not watch at parties or in bars.<\/p>\n

These were the findings of a new Seton Hall Sports Poll, conducted January 22-25 among 1,522 adults, geographically spread across the country. The Poll has a margin of error of +\/- 3.2 percent.<\/p>\n

Asked whether the restricted fan attendance, along with restrictions and limitations on players and gameplay would make the game less exciting than previous Super Bowls, nearly half \u2013 47 percent \u2013 agreed, with only 28 percent disagreeing. Twenty-six percent neither agreed nor disagreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the midst of the pandemic and all its uncertainty, it looks as though the NFL will complete the season and receive its television revenue,\u201d said Professor Charles Grantham, Director of the Center for Sport Management within the Stillman School of Business, which oversees the Seton Hall Sports Poll.\u00a0\u201cThey successfully navigated a challenging campaign, but the adjustments may have impacted the public\u2019s perception of the game as reflected in these findings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Further, on what is usually a social gathering occasion, either in homes or at bars, two thirds \u2013 64 percent \u2013 said that would not be gathering with other people that live outside of their homes.\u00a0 Despite Covid-19, one in four said they will be gathering with other people that live outside of their homes.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

32 percent of sports fans, 42 percent of general population, will not be watching<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nearly a third of the nation\u2019s self-described sports fans \u2013 32 percent \u2013 say they will not be watching this year\u2019s Super Bowl. Of the general U.S. population \u2013 42 percent \u2013 said they won\u2019t be tuning in.<\/p>\n

The result is consistent with a 2018 Seton Hall Sports Poll in which 54 percent said they would be watching the Super Bowl, and 43 percent said they would not.\u00a0According to Nielsen, in 2018 the Super Bowl drew an average viewership of 103.47 million viewers, which at the time was the lowest rating since 2009.<\/p>\n

In 2016 when the Seton Hall Sports Poll asked the question, 68 percent of respondents said yes, they would be watching the game and only 29 percent said no. This was reflected in the viewership as, according to Nielsen, in 2016 the Super Bowl drew an average of 111.86 million viewers. Last year\u2019s big game drew only 100.45 million and the year before just 98.48, so a repeat of 2018\u2019s viewership numbers would actually represent an uptick this year for the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n

\u201cViewership may be down because social gatherings bring out even the least casual fans,\u201d noted Grantham. \u201cBut of course, the Super Bowl has occupied 19 spots on the 20 most viewed programs in history, so it remains a vital part of the American experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

The decline of TV\/rise of smart devices<\/strong>
\nAs for Super Bowl questions that are not necessarily impacted by the raging virus, of the 58 percent of the population who said they would be watching, 79 percent will be watching on TV only, 14 percent on both TV and non-TV devices such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, etc., and 7 percent on non-TV devices only. Since 2016, the TV only contingent has fallen 19 points.<\/p>\n

In 2016 a Seton Hall Sports Poll found that 98 percent said they would be watching the Super Bowl on television \u2013 in 2018 that number was down to 90 percent<\/a>, with 10 percent citing other devices or a combination of TV and other devices. For the 2021 Super Bowl \u201cother devices\u201d or a combination of TV and other devices totals 21 percent.<\/p>\n

Favorite parts
\n<\/strong>Of those who said they will be watching, asked which part of the event they look forward to the most, only 52 percent said the game, with 21 percent saying the commercials and 20 percent the halftime show.<\/p>\n

Commercials <\/strong>
\nAsked specifically about the commercials, 67 percent said they pay more attention to Super Bowl commercials than during regular viewing, and 24 percent said they are more likely to buy a product advertised during the Super Bowl since they watched a more entertaining commercial.\u00a0 Forty percent disagreed that they would likely buy a product because of a Super Bowl commercial, \u201cbut advertisers would find the 24 percent number music to their ears,\u201d according to Stillman Professor of Marketing and Poll Methodologist Daniel Ladik. \u201cThere are plenty of people who would never admit that commercials influence their buys, but here are 24 percent admittedly all aboard. That\u2019s why advertisers flock to the game, even if with some restraint this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

#\u00a0 #\u00a0 #<\/p>\n

Results and charted breakdowns below.<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE POLL<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Seton Hall Sports Poll, conducted regularly since 2006, is performed by the Sharkey Institute within the Stillman School of Business. This poll was conducted online by YouGov Plc. using a national representative sample weighted according to gender, age, ethnicity, education, income and geography, based on U.S. Census Bureau figures. Respondents were selected from YouGov\u2019s opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S residents.\u00a0This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. The Seton Hall Sports Poll has been chosen for inclusion in iPoll by Cornell\u2019s Roper Center for Public Opinion Research and its findings have been published everywhere from USA Today, ESPN, The New York Times, Washington Post, AP, and Reuters to CNBC, NPR, Yahoo Finance, Fox News and many points in between.<\/p>\n

Media:<\/em>\u00a0 Michael Ricciardelli, Associate Director of Media Relations, Seton Hall University
\nmichael.ricciardelli@shu.edu<\/a>,\u00a0908-447-3034; Marty Appel,\u00a0AppelPR@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Results (Charted breakdown by fan type below questions)
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Q1<\/strong> – Which, if any, of the following statements best describes your interest in sports? If you do not have any interest in any specific sport, please select the ‘I am not a sports fan’<\/em> option.<\/p>\n