Comcast Super Bowl Survey Shows Fans Believe Tom Brady Will Look Best in HD, but Women More Likely to Give Manning Equal Favor

WHAT:  With HDTVs being one of the hottest gifts this past holiday season - it is fitting that Super Bowl parties are being planned and attended based on the potential HD (High Definition) viewing experience. A national consumer survey commissioned by Comcast last week suggests that HD has even more prominence around the Super Bowl than it did during a similar study in 2005.  The survey also uncovered how Super Bowl viewing habits differ between men and women. 

Brady Wins the Quarterback Battle, But Manning and Brady Tie the Women's Vote:  When asked who would look best in HD at the Super Bowl, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was the most popular choice among six players, with 27 percent of the vote, while Eli Manning of the New York Giants received a close 23 percent.  However, when broken down by gender, Eli Manning edges Tom Brady by the slimmest of margins: among women, Manning tops Brady 24 percent to 23 percent; among men, Brady tops Manning 31 percent to 23 percent. 

Smith Leads MVPs in HD, But Namath Still Wins over Women:  The survey asked Americans if they could go back in time and watch one of the past Super Bowl MVPs play in high-def, 29 percent chose to see Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXXVIII.   Terry Bradshaw of the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XIII came in second (17 percent) and Joe Namath of the New York Jets in Super Bowl III ranked third (16 percent).  However, "Broadway Joe" edged out Bradshaw among women surveyed; Namath received with 18 percent of the female vote, compared to Bradshaw's 14 percent, with Emmitt Smith still topping the list at 29 percent. 

Screen Size Matters More for Men:  When asked about the importance of the size of the TV screen in selecting a place to watch the Super Bowl, men and women differ.  Of the people who listed size as the most important factor, 43 percent of respondents were men, while only 28 percent of women chose size.  

Super Bowl Commercials Attract More Women:  Respondents were asked which parts of the game would be coolest to watch in HD.   More women than men (24 percent vs. 17 percent) are looking forward to the coolness factor of watching the famed Super Bowl commercials in HD.   Overall, most people answered that the kick-off will be the coolest part of the game to watch in HD (31 percent). 

ABOUT: Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (http://www.comcast.com) is the nation's leading provider of entertainment, information and communications products and services. With 24.2 million cable customers, 12.9 million high-speed Internet customers, and 4.1 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content. 

Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, ten regional Comcast SportsNets and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast's Internet business. Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.

METHODOLOGY:

This report presents the findings of a telephone survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation's CARAVAN Services among a national probability sample of 1,006 adults comprising of 503 men and 503 women, 18 years of age and older, living in private households in the continental United States.  Interviewing for this CARAVAN® Survey was completed during the period January 24-27, 2008. At the 95 percent confidence level, the margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points for the total sample.