Could this be the third consecutive Super Bowl for the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes without a significant buzz among viewers?

As we look toward Super Bowl 59 this Sunday, everything from ticket costs to online searches indicates a decrease in engagement, except for one element: the commercials.

According to Gametime, a last-minute ticket vendor, the prices for entry to the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans have plummeted around 45% since last Friday. However, they still remain pricey at $3,491, including taxes and fees, which is a stark contrast to the nearly $8,764 for similar tickets leading up to Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas.

Recent Trends in Super Bowl Ticket Prices

StubHub also reports a similar decline, with the average ticket price down 16% compared to last year, and significantly lower than it was just a week earlier. Interestingly, many fans are seizing the opportunity, as StubHub has noted a 12% increase in ticket sales from last year.

It’s perhaps not surprising that enthusiasm has waned this season, especially after the spotlight that Taylor Swift brought to last year’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas. CBS revealed that Super Bowl 58 attracted 202.4 million total viewers, particularly notable given Swift’s on-screen romance with Chiefs player Travis Kelce, which ended with a memorable kiss.

Decreased Interest in This Year’s Super Bowl

Reports suggest that Swift is expected to make an appearance at Super Bowl 59 as well, but it seems the excitement surrounding her relationship with Kelce may be fading. Last year’s buzz was heightened by Swift’s dramatic journey from Tokyo.

Zeta Global (ZETA), an analytics company utilizing artificial intelligence to track consumer behavior, identified trends from analyzing vast amounts of data from over 245 million U.S. consumers. They had previously anticipated record-breaking viewership potentially influenced by “the Swift Effect.”

This year, however, they have found a 14% drop in general interest in the Super Bowl. Here are some trends based on their analysis of online activities:

Decline in ‘Super Bowl’ Searches for 2024

A preliminary review of Google searches for “Super Bowl” indicates a decline in interest. As expected, searches surge every year as the event approaches, but they fell over 25% last week compared to the same time last year.

In the accompanying chart, Google marks the week or month with the highest search activity at 100 and compares subsequent weeks and months. Last year’s Super Bowl set new records for search volume.

Current Costs of Super Bowl Commercials

While viewer numbers might be lower this year, there’s still positive news for advertisers investing in commercials during the event.

The cost for a 30-second ad during FOX’s 6:30 p.m. ET broadcast is reported to be between $7 million and $8 million this year. Zeta Global has recorded a remarkable 192% increase in interest for the commercials of Super Bowl 59, which builds upon a 59% increase in interest observed before Super Bowl 58 in February 2023.