Dejected NFL fans seek smut after Super Bowl blowout

With game in hand, viewers sought alternative entertainment

A lopsided score in last night's Super Bowl kicked off a sudden spike in traffic as users sought alternative methods of entertainment in the later stages of the game.

According to adult video site Pornhub, traffic levels in much of the country fluctuated with the outcome of the game, dropping sharply in the early minutes then rising as the game reached an early climax which left many unsatisfied.

The site reported (in a safe-for-work blog post) that it saw a six per cent drop in traffic on Sunday over normal levels as fans tuned into the game. The difference in traffic was particularly pronounced in the regions of the two participating teams: the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks.

During the game, Pornhub said that traffic in Denver at kickoff was 51 per cent lower than normal, while Seattle had a 61 per cent dip. Across the entire US, traffic was down 29 per cent.

As the game progressed and the Seahawks built a sizable lead on the way to a 43-8 victory, the site noted some unusual patterns in traffic.

With their team facing a certain defeat, Denver's smut traffic levels jumped in the later stages of the game and by the post-game festivities the city's Pornhub intake was up 11 percent over average. Seattle, meanwhile, didn't see its porn intake return to normal levels until well into the night.

The site noted that traffic levels often fluctuate with major sporting events. Occasions such as the 2012 Olympics and Euro 2012 finals saw traffic drops for the host and participating countries.

Home users were not the only ones who seem to have turned to the web as the game grew long. AT&T said that its networks at the host site, MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, handled record traffic levels of 624GB.

That figure is up from last year's Super Bowl, which saw 388GB of data transmitted and 215GB generated in 2012. This year's game also saw 1.8 million social media posts from the stadium, compared to 1.1 million last year and 600,000 posts in 2012. ®