While watching the Super Bowl, I realized that the year’s biggest television event is not what it once was. Don’t get me wrong: the game was exciting, the commercials were funny and the presentation was top notch. What’s different is us. Surveys estimated that 36 percent of us used a second screen last night while watching the game. We also used those screens leading up to the game, too, to watch all the ads that these companies paying $4 million for 30 seconds of screentime have made. YouTube said that Super Bowl commercials posted online before the game get 600 percent more views. Keeping your commercial a secret until kickoff builds excitement, but it’s hard to argue with those extra viewers. CBS streamed the entire game, commercials and all, on its site, and NFL Gamepass did the same for customers outside the country. As we move into future Super Bowls, it’s hard to imagine these trends will stop: even sports can’t escape technology’s long reach.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with AI strategy, implementation and governance, as well as technology, media and marketing. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology, he is a bestselling author, covers tech and business for Fox 5’s Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN, and writes the popular daily business blog Think About This. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.