NEW DELHI: Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers not only became the longest game in Super Bowl history but also secured its place as the most-watched program in U.S. television history. According to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, the thrilling matchup averaged 123.4 million viewers across television and streaming platforms, surpassing last year’s record of 115.1 million for Kansas City’s last-play victory over Philadelphia—a remarkable 7% increase.
The CBS broadcast, complemented by Nickelodeon and Univision, in addition to streaming on Paramount+ and NFL’s digital platforms, contributed to the historic viewership figures.Nielsen reported that a record 202.4 million viewers watched at least part of the game across all networks, marking a substantial 10% jump compared to the previous year’s figure of 183.6 million.
CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus expressed his excitement, stating, “I can’t imagine a Super Bowl any better or more exciting than this.” The nail-biting contest was only the second in Super Bowl history to go into overtime, with Kansas City securing a 25-22 victory over San Francisco.
The increase in viewership can be attributed in part to a change in counting methodology. Nielsen began including out-of-home viewers in its ratings in 2020, initially from limited markets, but expanded this measurement to all 50 states starting this year.
The CBS broadcast alone averaged 120 million viewers, setting a new record for the network’s most-watched Super Bowl. The previous high was 112.34 million for the 2016 game between the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers.
Super Bowl LVIII featured a special attraction with pop superstar Taylor Swift in attendance, adding to the excitement. Swift, who is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, has brought new fans to the NFL.
This marks the second consecutive year that the Super Bowl has surpassed the 100 million viewership mark, signaling a rebound after a period where four out of five games before 2023 fell short of that number due to cord-cutting. The NFL playoffs also saw increased viewership, averaging 38.5 million viewers in the first three weekends—a 9% rise from the previous year. The regular season maintained a strong average of 17.9 million, tied for the second-highest since tracking began in 1995.
Univision, the Spanish-language network, set a record with over 2.2 million viewers, marking the highest Super Bowl viewership on record for a Spanish-language broadcast since 2014.
(Inputs from AP)