B&TB&TB&T
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Search
Trending topics:
  • Cairns Crocodiles
  • Nine
  • Seven
  • Federal Election
  • Pinterest
  • AFL
  • WPP
  • Anthony Albanese
  • AI
  • NRL
  • Thinkerbell
  • Channel 10
  • EssenceMediaCom
  • State of Origin
  • News Corp
  • Cairns Hatchlings
  • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • TV Ratings
  • Radio Ratings
  • Sports Marketing

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
Reading: Super Bowl TV Numbers Plummet Amid Fan Boycotts & The “Kaepernick Effect”
Share
B&TB&T
Subscribe
Search
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
B&T > Marketing > Super Bowl TV Numbers Plummet Amid Fan Boycotts & The “Kaepernick Effect”
MarketingMedia

Super Bowl TV Numbers Plummet Amid Fan Boycotts & The “Kaepernick Effect”

Staff Writers
Published on: 5th February 2019 at 11:24 AM
Staff Writers
Share
3 Min Read
SHARE

Yesterday’s Super Bowl pulled its worst TV audience in over 10 years amid claims the game was dull, the half-time entertainment rotten, the ads were tame, and one of the teams didn’t deserve to be there in the first place.

According to broadcaster CBS, 98.2 million people watched the New England Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3, the smallest television audience since 2008.

Here in Australia, some 205,000 tuned in to 7Mate to watch the game. Although that doesn’t include anyone who watched the game in a pub or a club.

Also impacting numbers was an apparent boycott of the match by the entire city of New Orleans who are still smarting after their home team, The Saints, were apparently robbed of a place in yesterday’s Super Bowl following some dubious referring decisions in a previous match that saw them lose to the Los Angeles Rams.

New Orleans is considered one of the most gridiron obsessed TV watchers in the US, with previous data showing almost 53 per cent of residents watched last year’s Super Bowl. Yesterday, it fell to as low as 25 per cent.

Screen Shot 2019-02-05 at 11.04.37 am

Such is the city’s anger, yesterday’s local paper, The Times-Picayune, ran a blank front cover with the headline: “Super Bowl? What Super Bowl?”

Instead of tuning in to yesterday’s game, some 3000 residents of New Orleans turned up to a “Boycott Bowl” concert in the city staged by the mayor, LaToya Cantrell. A number of Saints fans are also reported to have filed long-shot lawsuits against the NFL following the controversial result against the Rams.

And it seems like it was a case of sore losers all-round. In Kansas City – the team that lost to the New England Patriots – Super Bowl viewer numbers were down 11 per cent on last year.

There had also been media reports that fans had chosen to boycott yesterday’s game in support of Nike’s Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who remains unwanted by any NFL team.

Kaepernick became a controversial figure in 2016 when he began kneeling during the playing of the national anthem to bring attention to apparent police brutality against the African-American community and other issues affecting minorities.

 

Join more than 30,000 advertising industry experts
Get all the latest advertising and media news direct to your inbox from B&T.

No related posts.

TAGGED: Colin Kaepernick, Super Bowl
Share
Staff Writers
By Staff Writers
Follow:
Staff Writers represent B&T's team of award-winning reporters. Here, you'll find articles crafted with industry experience spanning over 50 years. Our team of specialists brings together a wealth of knowledge and a commitment to delivering insightful, topical, and breaking news. With a deep understanding of advertising and media, our Staff Writers are dedicated to providing industry-leading analysis and reporting, both shaping the conversation and setting the benchmark for excellence.

Latest News

Seven West Media’s Sales Boss Henry Tajer To Step Down
16/06/2025
ID Collective Opens Business With Blunt By Adding The Umbrella Brand To Its Agency Portfolio
16/06/2025
Criteo Reveals ‘For The Love Of Commerce’, “To Shape & Improve The AI-Driven Commerce Experience”
16/06/2025
Inside Selena Gomez’s Purpose-Driven Beauty Empire: Rare Beauty CPO Goes Beyond Gloss At Vogue Codes
16/06/2025
//

B&T is Australia’s leading news publication magazine for the advertising, marketing, media and PR industries.

 

B&T is owned by parent company The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.

About B&T

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise

Top Categories

  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • TV Ratings

Sign Up for Our Newsletter



B&TB&T
Follow US
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Register Lost your password?