Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images Maroon 5 is playing the Super Bowl halftime show, but an INSIDER poll shows fans aren't especially excited for the performance.
- Maroon 5 is performing at halftime of Super Bowl LIII on Sunday.
- An INSIDER poll found that Americans were equally interested in Maroon 5 as they were a generic halftime show.
- While the data wasn't conclusive, there was no evidence to show that Maroon 5 was any better than a replacement-level act for the Super Bowl halftime show.
- Follow along with all of INSIDER's Super Bowl coverage here.
While still the championship game of the NFL season, the Super Bowl is now a media event all on its own.
The most-watched broadcast in American television year after year, football is secondary to the event for many casual viewers, who tune in for the commercials, the halftime show, or catch whatever bits of the broadcast they care to while enjoying a Super Bowl party with friends.
Read more: The game is the least important part of the Super Bowl for viewers
Over the past two decades, the Super Bowl halftime show has become a place where some of the biggest stars in music can make a splash, or at the very least provide a viral moment that becomes fodder for Twitter.
With this in mind, one would imagine that the ideal Super Bowl halftime performer is an act that is on its own a draw to fans, giving those who might not be interested in the game a reason to tune in anyway.
Unfortunately for Maroon 5 this year, that does not appear to be the case.
INSIDER ran a poll on SurveyMonkey Audience with 1,116 respondents from January 10 to 11, 2019. We asked respondents whether they were interested in the halftime show, but two slightly different fashions.
About half of respondents were asked merely "How interested are you in this year's Super Bowl halftime performance?" while the other half were asked, "How interested are you in this year's Super Bowl halftime performance featuring Maroon 5?" Overall, 501 respondents saw the generic question, while 573 randomly saw the Maroon 5 twist.
17% of respondents were very or extremely interested in the halftime show when asked the generic question, while just 15% of respondents were interested in the halftime show specifically featuring Maroon 5.
The difference well within the margin of error, so it would be wrong to say that Maroon 5 isn't a draw based on those figures. Additionally, data could have been thrown off by respondents who were familiar with the fact that Maroon 5 was the Super Bowl halftime act without being prompted.
However, based on the data, we don't have any evidence that they are a draw compared to a generic halftime presentation.
Ideally, fans would grow more excited when prompted with the band that is playing the Super Bowl halftime show, but this year, it looks as though Maroon 5 is essentially viewed the same as any replacement level Super Bowl halftime performer.
That said, everything could change if they wind up pulling off a genuinely iconic show.
- More Super Bowl LIII coverage:
Everything you need to know heading into Super Bowl LIII
The 28 people who will determine the outcome of Super Bowl LIII, ranked
The game is the least important part of the Super Bowl for viewers
The 31 best prop bets you can make on the greatest gambling day of the year - Super Bowl Sunday
SurveyMonkey Audience polls from a national sample balanced by census data of age and gender. Respondents are incentivized to complete surveys through charitable contributions. Generally speaking, digital polling tends to skew toward people with access to the internet. SurveyMonkey Audience doesn't try to weight its sample based on race or income. Total 1,116 respondents, a margin of error plus or minus 3.09 percentage points with a 95% confidence level.