This Super Bowl Was 3rd Most-Watched TV Show of All Time

Preliminary numbers have it behind 2015 and 2017 Super Bowls
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 14, 2023 1:30 AM CST
This Super Bowl Was the 3rd Most-Watched TV Show Ever
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy while talking to Terry Bradshaw after the NFL Super Bowl 57 football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, in Glendale, Ariz. The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Fox was hoping the matchup of two top teams in the Super Bowl and a close game would lead to a record night. Even though Sunday's game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles came down to a field goal with 8 seconds remaining, Fox fell just short of its goal, the AP reports. The Chiefs' rally to defeat the Eagles 38-35 is on pace to become the third most-watched television show in history, with an estimated 113 million people watching, according to preliminary numbers released Monday. Fox said the audience estimate includes the broadcasts on Fox and Fox Deportes as well as streaming on Fox and the NFL's digital sites. The figures are via Nielsen's Fast National data and Adobe Analytics.

The 2015 game between New England and Seattle on NBC holds the record at 114,442,000 viewers (not including streaming), followed by Super Bowl 51 in 2017 on Fox between Atlanta and New England (113,668,000). This was Fox's 10th Super Bowl since it began airing NFL games in 1994 and the second most-watched program in Fox Sports history. It would also be a slight increase over the 112.3 million average for last year's Super Bowl. The Los Angeles Rams' victory over the Cincinnati Bengals was broadcast by NBC and Telemundo and streamed on Peacock and NFL digital sites.

According to Adobe Analytics, this year's digital feed averaged a Super Bowl-record 7 million streams, an 18% increase over last year (6 million) and more than double Fox's last Super Bowl in 2020 (3.4 million). It was the third straight year the streaming average has surpassed 5 million. The first Super Bowl to be streamed, in 2012, averaged 346,000. Rihanna's halftime show averaged 118.7 million viewers, making it the second-most watched in Super Bowl history. Katy Perry's 2015 performance holds the top mark at 121 million. Final Nielsen data will be available on Tuesday.

(More Super Bowl stories.)

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