YouTube has shared the details of its Super Bowl coverage and events, as well as some new stats on Super Bowl engagement, and how brands can benefit, with the big game now just days away.
And aside from its Ad Blitz hub, where all of the various Super Bowl ads are on show, YouTube is also running a range of game day activations for Super Bowl LIX, with a focus on creators who’ll provide their own unique take on the game.
This year, the NFL’s partnering with YouTube to host a flag football game the day before the Super Bowl, with a range of well-known YouTube creators taking part, headlined by superstars IShowSpeed and Kai Cenat.
Creators have become a bigger consideration in event coverage, with YouTube noting that:
“54% of people say they would rather watch a creator break down a major event than watch the event itself. With their unique styles and different areas of expertise, YouTube creators bring a perspective that goes beyond what fans get from a traditional broadcast.”
YouTube will stream the flag football game live, while it’ll also highlight various lead-up events and NFL content for the game.
The Super Bowl is set to be a big focus in the app once again this year, with engagement around the Super Bowl ramping up weeks out from the event itself:
“YouTube fans relive the best plays, save their favorite recipes for game day, re-watch the classic ads and even learn trivia about why Super Bowl MVPs say “I’m going to Disneyland,” after their win. In anticipation of the halftime show, people are watching prediction videos for Lamar’s setlist, and going down the memory lane to re-watch their favorite performances. The top-10 most popular Halftime Shows on YouTube have more than 1 billion views – and fans keep coming back to them.”
The spectacle of the event obviously adds to the YouTube content appeal, with various elements that can be split out and separated into their own clips.
Which also extends to Shorts as well:
“Surveyed users are 1.7x more likely to associate watching sports clips with YouTube Shorts vs. other short-form video platforms. Fan reactions and memes on Shorts are shaping and reflecting culture as it happens.”
The expanded scope of YouTube engagement with Super Bowl content facilitates a range of opportunities, though that also extends to other sports too.
Indeed, YouTube also says that more than 35 billion hours of sports content is consumed annually in the app, making it a key destination for sports engagement, beyond traditional TV coverage.
In fact, YouTube is arguably now more influential in the sports realm than traditional TV, with the platform also broadcasting exclusive NFL and MLB games live.
The rise of Connected TV has also enabled more sports fans to engage with more sports content on demand, and there’s a clear alignment between various sporting fandoms and the app.
Which makes its Super Bowl content even more relevant, and more important for brands to take note of when considering sports tie-ins and themed promotions.
I mean, Super Bowl ads drove more than a billion views in the app last year alone.
That could be worth considering for your themed promotions, with more opportunities for sports engagement across YouTube’s network.
