When it comes to social media popularity, the spectacle of Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns pummeling each other was more popular than the matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals.
What Happened: According to a Variety report citing data from the analytics firm Conviva, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.'s (NYSE:WWE) WrestleMania 38 drew a combined 2.2 billion impressions across all social media platforms in its April 9-10 presentation, whereas the NFL’s Super Bowl LVI brought in 1.8 billion impressions on Feb. 13.
Furthermore, WrestleMania 38 accumulated 1.1 billion video views, 13.1 million hours of video watch time and 87 million engagements over its two-day span. In comparison, Super Bowl LVI brought in 618 million video views, 3.56 million hours of video watch time and 78 million engagements.
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Why It Happened: Admittedly, the comparison between the two events is a tad lopsided, as WrestleMania 38 covered two nights while the Super Bowl only occupied a single evening. Still, Variety noted that WrestleMania smashed attendance and revenue records for a WWE event, with more than 156,000 fans packing AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Stadium in Dallas on both nights. It also created new records on social media, with a 47% increase in views on Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP), TikTok and Meta Platforms Inc.'s (NASDAQ:FB) Facebook and Instagram, compared to the 1.1 billion views total for WrestleMania 37.
Super Bowl LVI was broadcast on Comcast Corporation’s (NASDAQ:CMCSA) NBC, with a Spanish-language broadcast on Telemundo and a national radio broadcast on Westwood One, a division of Cumulus Media Inc. (NASDAQ:CMLS). WrestleMania 38 was streamed in the U.S. on Peacock, Comcast’s streaming service, and was also available as a pay-per-view title in selected movie theaters via Fathom Events, a specialty content distributor co-owned by AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNK) and Regal, a subsidiary of the Cineworld Group plc (OTC:CNNWF). It was also presented in special in-house broadcasts across the Dave & Buster Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PLAY) restaurant chain.
Photo: Roman Reigns, courtesy of WWE
