6 World VIDEOAGE April 2024 (Continued From Page 4) (Continued on Page 8) beer served at pubs, the traditional junk food served at homes and sports bars, and the celebrities present at the Las Vegas Allegiant stadium. Specifically for the Super Bowl, according to a survey by Chicago-based Numerator, 19 percent of the TV viewers did not pay attention to the game, but 82 percent watched the Halftime show. As for the best TV commercial, 29 percent favored the coffee shop chain Dunkin Donuts spot with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Jennifer Lopez. Similarly, for the Sanremo Festival, the key attractions were the various antics of the participants, the celebrities involved, the live performances, and the controversies surrounding the event. For five days, starting February 6, 2024, Italy’s RAI enjoyed record TV audiences for its Sanremo Festival, where the highlight wasn’t the songs, but the performances, which included John Travolta doing a few steps of the “Chicken Dance,” (called the “Duck Dance” in Europe), which is usually performed at weddings. For Travolta’s performance, the 69-year-old Hollywood star was reportedly only compensated for travel expenses ($200,000) by RAI, but it was pointed out that he was paid $1 million by the manufacturer of the sneakers that he was wearing on the RAI show, the Italy-based U-Power. For many years the music competition has been popular not as much for the songs it produced as for the antics of its participants. Gone are the days when songs like Volare and Quando Quando debuted at the Festival. Sanremo is now popular for gags such as the one performed by Travolta. In the final analysis, both shows demonstrated that broadcast television is alive and well worldwide, given the right program mix. The 58th annual Super Bowl, the American football final, which took place on February 11, registered a record TV audience of 123.4 million viewers in the U.S. And in Italy the previous day, February 10, the 74th Sanremo Music Festival final attracted a record number of 14.3 million TV viewers. The number of TVHH in the U.S. is 125 million, while in Italy it is 25 million. However, in both cases observers miscredited the type of program that aired. The first was said to be sports. The second, songs. In reality, the sports element, like the songs element were just incidentals. Indeed, the main attraction for the Super Bowl were the TV commercials, the Halftime show, the Super Bowl & TV Misconceptions. In Italy, Travolta Trampled by the Chicken Dance CONTACTS Isabella Marquez for Century Plaza exhibition imarquez@eventstm.com Dom Serafini for VideoAge domserafini1@aol.com WEBSITE UPDATES www.videoageinternational.net/new-us-tv-season-guide/ L.A. Screenings: Basic Info Indie Screenings May 14-17 Century Plaza Hotel Studio Screenings May 18-23 Various Studio Lots Parties CP & Studio Lots By invitation only VideoAge Issue Out May 13 Printed and PDF
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