If you watched Kansas City’s 25-22 overtime victory over San Francisco in Las Vegas’ memorable Super Bowl LVI on Sunday night, you had good company. The telecast on all platforms averaged 123.4 million viewers, making it the most-watched program ever, according to CBS Sports. The figure is up seven percent from last year, which previously set a record 115.1 million viewers. CBS’s 120.0 million viewers is the largest audience in history for a single network.
CBS Sports’ total viewership was comprised of digital properties including CBS, Paramount+, Nickelodeon, Univision, CBS Sports and NFL+.
The Kansas City Chiefs won their third Super Bowl in five years. Patrick Mahomes threw for 333 yards, two touchdowns and one interception en route to his third Super Bowl MVP award.
Why did he set a record?
Matlock is not a puzzle you need to solve. Super Bowl LVIII is only the second Super Bowl to go to overtime, meaning the majority of the audience did not leave the game in the fourth quarter. There is always a significant amount of advertising for every Super Bowl matchup, but this has been intensified in recent years by two teams that have drawn viewership, particularly the Chiefs.
It was also progressing at a high rate of viewership. Look at previous weeks: The Baltimore Ravens averaged 55.473 million viewers for the most-watched AFC Championship game ever. The Buffalo Bills hit 50 million viewers in the episode with the headliners. And Fox’s telecast of the 49ers hosting the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship Game averaged 56.9 million viewers. Yes, these games are boosted by out-of-home viewers, but last year they beat the mark, which was an apples-to-apples comparison.
This is a myth, but I think Las Vegas had a special appeal as a first-time host and long-time center for sports gambling. Finally, Taylor Swift — at her peak — has inspired some people who haven’t sampled the Super Bowl to watch. Last year’s Super Bowl drew an average of 115.1 million viewers on Fox, Fox Deportes and digital streaming, compared to the 114.4 million viewers who watched New England win NBC’s Super Bowl XLIX in 2015. Determine the most viewed game as opposed to the highest viewership.) – Richard Deitsch, senior writer
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