Super Bowl, Related Programming Across All Nets Scores Big Growth

Superbowl-2013-AA2Every TV programmer wants a piece of the biggest annual TV show of the year -- even if it's in name only.

Overall, "Super Bowl" programming on the network that airs the game and other related "shoulder" programming for the game on other networks have seen skyrocketing growth. All are up 14% for the February 2013 event aired by CBS: 462 hours and 18 minutes.

This year's results, per Nielsen, are up 22% from the 2011 level, when it was 380 hours.

Nielsen says these results include all pre-game programming on the network that airs the game on the day -- sometimes as much as six hours before the contest actually starts -- as well as other related-Super Bowl programming that airs two weeks before the game.

In 2012, the game between New York and New England pulled in 407 hours and 24 minutes; 2011's Green Bay-Pittsburgh contest pulled in 380 hours; New Orleans-Indianapolis in 2010 had 402 hours 36 minutes; and 2009's Arizona-Pittsburgh had 395 hours and 24 minutes.

Stephen Master, senior vice president of sports at Nielsen, stated: “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.“

This year's Super Bowl game on CBS posted 108.7 million viewers -- the third-biggest ever for the game, as well as the third-largest single TV telecast ever. Average advertising prices for the game was between $3.7 million and $3.8 million for a 30-second commercial.

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Nielsen's SocialGuide says 5.3 million people sent out 26.1 million tweets during the course of the game.

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