At Adeptia, integration is our mantra — and not just data. We’re interested in all the fascinating and complementary intersections life has to offer. Integration as a concept means committing to harmonies in all disciplines and crafts, and we believe it is crucial to be open to unexpected combinations that can surprise, delight, and improve our industries and our lives.
Next up in our series on integrations in life: A look at how the multi-billion dollar Super Bowl industry was created between the integration of football and television, an amazing symbiosis that has grown into an industry that no one could have imagined back in the 1960s.
Once upon a time, way back in the 20th century, the only way to see a football game was to attend in person. Then along came television. But those grainy black and white images were no substitute for being part of the live action crowd.
By the time the first Super Bowl was played, on Jan. 15, 1967, more than half of the 51 million TV viewers lucky enough to see the Packers trounce the Chiefs in Super Bowl 1 watched the game on a black and white tube TV. Back then, it would have been difficult to predict just how powerful the symbiosis would be between football and television.
Even television industry executives did not appreciate how well football and TV would integrate in the years to come. In fact, Super Bowl I was the only game ever simulcast by two networks. But neither network had the foresight to archive a copy of the game. In fact, it wasn’t until 2011 that football historians found a nearly complete tape of that historic first game.
Tickets ranged from $6 to $12 for that first championship game, and more than 30,000 seats went unsold at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. And a 30-second television commercial during Super Bowl I cost $37,500.
By contrast, Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7, 2016, has sold-out all 68,500 seats at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. — home of the San Francisco 49ers. Face value for seats at Super Bowl 50 range between $800 and $1900. With the help of the Internet, the resale market could bring more than four times the face value of those tickets.
The game also will be live-streamed over the Internet. Thanks to all those viewing eyeballs, a 30-second television spot will command $5 million. All total, Super Bowl advertisers will spend close to $400 million. Why? Well, according to Statista, consumers spent more than $14.3 billion on Super Bowl-related purchases in 2015.
Turns out that TV has been very, very good for football, and vice versa. “Televised games fueled the dramatic increase in the NFL’s popularity and profitability,” notes an NFL analysis. “Television elevated the Super Bowl from sporting event to de facto national holiday.”
Today, largely due to the reach of television, the National Football League has grown to become a $9.5 billion a year business, with the equivalent of a $46 billion market cap, according to Bloomberg.
More than one billion people worldwide will watch the 2016 Super Bowl on TV — many of them on super high-resolution televisions featuring organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology that is purchased specifically for watching the Big Game. OLED TVs work without a backlight. They are lighter and thinner than conventional LCDs, and offer deeper black levels and higher contrast.
According to a Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) study, 22 percent of high-definition television (HDTV) sales in 2013 were specifically for watching the Super Bowl. In fact, the synergy between football and television has a huge impact on the sales of TV $19 billion TV hardware sector.
“Sports events, namely the Super Bowl, continue to drive significant TV sales every year,” according to the CEA report. “No other sporting event comes close to prompting that many purchases of HDTVs.”
What’s more, say NFL officials, “NFL football has been very good for TV, too. The games are rating behemoths that provide networks with advertising dollars… And like any good relationship, this one remains a two-way street, benefiting both the broadcasters and the game.”
For more on our unexpectedly good integration series, check out:Unexpectedly Good Integrations In Words With FriendsUnexpectedly Good Integrations In Life: Origami + Engineering = Portable Bridge