Super Bowl shows big events remain big draws

Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans predictably produced a huge TV audience -- and, according to New York-based Trendrr, the most social media activity generated by television programming.

So does that prove big-event live TV, despite the ever-increasing viewer choices, is alive and well?

Neal Pilson, a TV consultant and former head of CBS Sports, says the Super Bowl rating -- 46.3, translating to 46.3% of U.S. TV households watching the game on CBS -- suggests award shows such as the Grammys and Oscars will remain big attractions.

"It's more than just being about live television," Pilson says. "It's about unscripted TV. At a time where there are hundreds and hundreds of channels with scripted programming, the American public has shown an appetite for programming, like American Idol, where the results aren't known. Sports has ridden the wave, but it's more than just sports."

Still, Super Bowl audiences tower over those for live award shows such as the Academy Awards. CBS' coverage Sunday of the Baltimore Ravens' victory against the San Francisco 49ers averaged 108.4 million viewers. That compares with 111.3 million last year for the New York Giants' Super Bowl victory against the New England Patriots on NBC.

Nielsen says 37.9 million watched last year's Academy Awards show on ABC, even with the return of Billy Crystal as host. And the 2012 Grammys topped the Oscars for the first time -- at 39.9 million viewers -- in part because that show followed the death of Whitney Houston.

Audiences for sports and award shows can be affected by specific factors, such as whether games are close -- the Ravens won by three points -- or big stars are at the podium.

But Paul Swangard, who oversees sports marketing studies at the University of Oregon, says they have something in common: "The public appetite for live content is insatiable. … And all of this so-called reality TV has fueled lots of Americans to see the premium version."

Sponsors and advertisers see value in big-event TV, too. Pilson says it's efficient spending, even if expensive.

"The Super Bowl reaches half the country. Even if you tried to reach that with ads on 10 other shows, it wouldn't be as efficient," Pilson says.

Adds David Carter, a Los Angeles-based sports marketing consultant who also teaches at Southern California: "With both big-event sports and entertainment, if you sprinkle in the overall cultural element, it's almost like you have to watch so you won't be an outcast on Monday morning."