Game not quite super overseas

The NFL likes to tout the Super Bowl as a worldwide event. There is evidence to support that claim. Next Sunday’s game at University of Phoenix Stadium will be broadcast in 223 countries and territories, and in 30 languages.

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The 2007 Super Bowl between Indianapolis and Chicago was ranked as the world’s most-watched live TV sports event of the year, according to Initiative Sports Futures’ ViewerTrack global trends report.

But a closer look at who’s watching reveals a stark contrast between the United States and the rest of the world.

Last year’s broadcast attracted an estimated average of 93.2 million viewers in the U.S., according to Nielsen Media Research.

But the game drew a 1.5 rating on Nippon TV in Japan, which translates to about 1.8 million viewers. Japan’s population is roughly 127 million.

“The way I always describe it is this,” said Ikuma Isaac, a reporter for Nippon TV in Japan. “The NFL is perceived in Japan the way the NHL is perceived in the southeastern part of the U.S.”

A ViewerTrack report said an average live global audience of 97 million watched the Colts defeat the Bears last year. The NFL disputes that figure since many countries in Asia and South America lack the infrastructure to measure viewers.

The number also appears low since the sum of U.S., Japanese and United Kingdom (2.5 million) viewers already exceeds 97 million, and Mexico is one of the league’s biggest international success stories.

In terms of sheer numbers, the Super Bowl doesn’t come close to the world’s top sporting event.

The 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany had a cumulative television audience of 26.29 billion, according to a report commissioned by FIFA’s TV partner, Infront Sports & Media, and compiled by Sponsorship Intelligence.

Part of the NFL’s problem in enticing other countries is a lack of familiarity with the game.

“During breaks in games, there is a lot of explaining to do so people can understand,” said Thomas Kressner, the CEO and chairman of Yes TV, which broadcasts the Super Bowl and other NFL games in numerous Asian nations, including China and India. “There’s not a lot of football being played in these countries.”

Even when there is, it doesn’t always translate to success. Germany was the only nation to embrace the now-defunct NFL Europa with five teams and strong crowd support. But Dave Tossell, the director of public affairs for NFL International, said that success never translated into widespread German interest for the NFL.

The NFL also faces major hurdles with language, accessibility on free television and time differences.

“NTV used to air the game live, but that meant airing the Super Bowl at 8 a.m. on Monday,” Isaac said. “Not a good draw when the majority of the country is off to work.”

But there is hope for the NFL’s marquee event.

After bottoming out at about 200,000 to 300,000 British viewers in the late 1990s, the Super Bowl is again on the rise in the UK, where the game will be broadcast on the BBC for the first time this year.

With Yes taking over the broadcast rights for most of Asia this year, the game is being shown on Goal TV while being syndicated to local free stations in Thai and Mandarin, among other tongues.

The NFL staged regular-season games in Mexico (2006) and Britain (2007) each of the past two seasons and will be back in London next season. London and Mexico City also are being considered as sites for a future Super Bowl.

“If you had told NFL fans five years ago that we’d be staging regular-season games in London, they’d have thought you mad,” Tossell said. “Now that the idea of a Super Bowl in the UK is not out of the question, the sky’s the limit.”

Tuning in

The top 10 most-watched TV programs of all time are Super Bowls. Here are the estimated total number of viewers (Based on A.C. Nielsen figures) for those games.

Program Date Network *Total viewers

Super Bowl XXXVIII Feb. 1, 2004 CBS 144,400,000

Super Bowl XL Feb. 5, 2006 ABC 141,400,000

Super Bowl XLI Feb 4, 2007 CBS 139,800,000

Super Bowl XXXVII Jan. 26, 2003 ABC 138,900,000

Super Bowl XXX Jan. 28, 1996 NBC 138,488,000

Super Bowl XXVIII Jan. 30, 1994 NBC 134,800,000

Super Bowl XXXIX Feb. 6, 2005 Fox 133,700,000

Super Bowl XXXII Jan. 25, 1998 NBC 133,400,000

Super Bowl XXVII Jan. 31, 1993 NBC 133,400,000

Super Bowl XXXVI Feb. 3, 2002 Fox 131,700,000

*Watched some portion of the broadcast programs