THR POLL: Super Bowl Headed for Record Ratings

Sunday's match-up between the Steelers and Packers will lead to record ratings for Fox, according to a new poll featured in the upcoming issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

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The poll, conducted by Penn Schoen Berland, shows that 78 percent of Americans plan to watch the game -- up five percent from last year and ten percent from 2009's game. The men make up the bulk of this ratings increase, with 89 percent of males polled saying they would watch the game. But the numbers show that 68 percent of America's women will watch the game, up nine percent from 2009.

A further finding in the poll shows that the Super Bowl is the second most important day in an American male's life during the year.  The poll results show that men get excited for the Super Bowl more than any other day, with the exception of Christmas, and look forward to it more than their anniversary, birthday or Thanksgiving.

Other poll details include:

* The results show that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is the most disliked player going into Sunday's game and the fourth most disliked player in the league -- behind Brett Favre, Michael Vick and Tom Brady.

•  Considering the four teams that played in the NFC and AFC Conference Championship games, the majority of Americans believe the Steelers-Packers matchup will make for the best Super Bowl this year.

•   According to the survey’s findings, this dream matchup will also be broadcast on American’s top choice for network.  The majority of Americans say Fox does the best job of broadcasting NFL games and most pick Fox as the network on which they would most like to see the game.

*   Americans are rooting for the Packers (45% to 39% over the Steelers), but there are big discrepancies along race and party. The findings show that Democrats and non-whites are rooting for the Steelers, while Republicans and whites are pulling for the Packers.

*   7 in 10 say they watch the Super Bowl for the game, not the ads, including the majority of females (60%).

The Hollywood Reporter magazine hits newsstands on Thursday.