(CNN) -- The Super Bowl may be the most watched television event in the United States, but that won't be the primary focus for millions of people tuning in this year.
Stephen Master, vice president of Nielsen Sports media research, told CNNMoney.com that close to 50 percent of viewers actually watch the commercials more than they watch the game.
This doesn't surprise 24-year-old Chantal Paradis of Austin, Texas, who is among the TV followers who care more about the ads and less about the Green Bay Packers-Pittsburgh Steelers matchup.
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"I plan to record the Super Bowl before I start watching it so I can fast-forward to the commercials," Paradis said. "I really don't care who wins the game."
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Twenty-five-year-old Carmelo Giangrande of Crystal Lake, Illinois, says he only watches the ads, too, and couldn't care less about football. He prefers to watch ice hockey.
"I like how the Super Bowl brings people together for parties, but I think the advertisements are more interesting than the game," Giangrande noted.
"I'll eat, drink and socialize during the Super Bowl, then tune in when the commercials air," he said.
That's good news for companies paying the reported $100,000-per-second ad rate to showcase their products on Fox this year.
Although 106.5 million people tuned into last year's Super Bowl, it's the buzz before, during and after the game about an ad that advertisers really care about.
Paradis, a married insurance sales professional, says she'll be on the lookout for commercials that make her laugh.
"I think the most memorable Super Bowl commercials are the funny ones," she said. "I'm a big fan of Justin Timberlake, so I liked the one with him in the Pepsi ad a few years ago where he was playfully beat up."
Giangrande says he enjoys the beer ads and prefers commercials that make him laugh, too.
Mainstream media outlets and social media sites devote space and time to highlight the spots, too, which can add to the excitement and build up this pop culture phenomenon.
Both Paradis and Giangrande are among the growing number of members of Facebook fan pages dedicated to Super Bowl commercials.
"It's almost become a sort of holiday or an American tradition to watch the ads," she said.
Viewers interested in the ads this year will get to view a variety of spots featuring beer, soda, cars -- and celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber and Ozzy Osbourne, to name a few.
