Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Super Bowl Expected to Be Among Most-Watched TV Events in History
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
February 14, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

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 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.

The Spanish-language audience average for the game was 951,000, a record for the most-watched Super Bowl game in Spanish-language cable television history. It was also the most watched non-soccer event in Spanish-language cable history.

The Spanish-language number is down from last year’s record of 1.9 million on Telemundo, which unlike Fox Deportes has broadcast affiliates in 90 markets.

The Super Bowl has been televised in Spanish in the United States since 2014.

Final Nielsen data will be available on Tuesday, including the English-language television-only figures. After Super Bowls averaged over 100 million viewers from 2010-18, four of the five games before this year had fallen short of that number because of cord-cutting. That included 95.2 million for the 2021 Super Bowl between Tampa Bay and Kansas City, which was the game’s lowest TV-only average since 2007.

If Sunday’s number can better the 99.18 million from last year, it would mark the first time since 2015 there had been two straight years of increases.

Unsurprisingly, Kansas City and Philadelphia were the two highest-ranked markets. Kansas City led the way with a 52.0 rating and 87 share followed by Philadelphia’s 46.3/77.

The rating is the percentage of television households tuned in. The share refers to a percentage of the TV-watching audience viewing a particular program at the time.

Cincinnati, which lost to the Chiefs in the AFC championship game, and Minneapolis also recorded 77 shares.

The flood of ads during what is easily television’s most-watched event of the year was heavy on celebrities — Ben Affleck, Ozzy Osbourne, Matt Damon, Maya Rudolph, Martha Stewart and “Breaking Bad” cast members.

Steve Williamson, senior vice president of the market research firm GWI. said surveys show that trust in brands is down this year and companies were looking for well-known names for a boost.

“There wasn’t a primary brand that took over the Super Bowl,” he said. “There were all sorts of brands from alcohol to gambling to Jesus.”

Fox also said 15.5 million people watched the season premiere of Gordon Ramsay’s competition show “Next Level Chef” following the game. The spot after the Super Bowl is usually the most-coveted time slot on television.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Panasonic to Cut 10,000 Jobs, Expects $900 Million in Restructuring Costs

DON'T MISS

US Postal Service Reports $3.3 Billion Quarterly Net Loss

DON'T MISS

Iran Agrees to Fourth Round of Indirect Nuclear Talks With US on Sunday

DON'T MISS

Visalia Smoke Shop Shut Down After Illegal Marijuana Sales Discovered

DON'T MISS

How Much Has Central Unified Shelled Out to Get Rid of Its Superintendents?

DON'T MISS

Selma Bear Sighting Prompts Police, Wildlife Response

DON'T MISS

Pope Leo Once Levied Criticism at Trump and Vance. MAGA Is Not Amused

DON'T MISS

Republicans’ Trust in Media Increases Following Trump’s Return to White House

DON'T MISS

Jeanine Pirro to Be Interim US Attorney for DC, Trump Says

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Catch Fleeing Gang Member Who Tossed Gun Over Fence

UP NEXT

Los Angeles Coliseum and SoFi Stadium to Share Opening and Closing Ceremonies for 2028 Olympics

UP NEXT

Freeman’s Bases-Loaded Triple Helps Dodgers Beat Marlins

UP NEXT

Robbie Ray Pitches 6 Effective Innings as the Giants Beat the Cubs

UP NEXT

Jury in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial May Not Be Finalized Until Friday

UP NEXT

The Steelers Move on From George Pickens by Trading Mercurial Receiver to Cowboys

UP NEXT

Jesús Sánchez’s RBI Single in 10th Inning Lifts Marlins to Win Over Dodgers

UP NEXT

Giants Score 9 Runs in the 11th Inning to Beat the Cubs

UP NEXT

Warriors Take Game 1 From Cold-Shooting Wolves Despite Curry’s Departure With Hamstring Strain

UP NEXT

Caitlin Clark’s Return to Iowa for Preseason Game Draws Average ESPN Viewership of 1.3 Million

UP NEXT

Ravens Release Justin Tucker After Accusations by Massage Therapists of Inappropriate Behavior

Visalia Smoke Shop Shut Down After Illegal Marijuana Sales Discovered

31 minutes ago

How Much Has Central Unified Shelled Out to Get Rid of Its Superintendents?

35 minutes ago

Selma Bear Sighting Prompts Police, Wildlife Response

46 minutes ago

Pope Leo Once Levied Criticism at Trump and Vance. MAGA Is Not Amused

48 minutes ago

Republicans’ Trust in Media Increases Following Trump’s Return to White House

16 hours ago

Jeanine Pirro to Be Interim US Attorney for DC, Trump Says

16 hours ago

Fresno Police Catch Fleeing Gang Member Who Tossed Gun Over Fence

16 hours ago

Suit Challenges New Rules on Children in Federal Custody Who Crossed Into US

17 hours ago

Fresno Mayor Dyer Bullish on Growth, Calls on Newsom for $200 Million

17 hours ago

Rejoicing Peruvians See Pope Leo XIV as One of Their Own After His Many Years in Peru

17 hours ago

Panasonic to Cut 10,000 Jobs, Expects $900 Million in Restructuring Costs

TOKYO (Reuters) – Panasonic Holdings said on Friday it will cut 10,000 staff and expects to book restructuring costs of 130 billion ye...

4 minutes ago

https://www.communitymedical.org/thecause?utm_source=Misfit+Digital&utm_medium=GVWire+Banner+Ads&utm_campaign=Branding+2025&utm_content=thecause
The Panasonic booth is shown during the 2020 CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 7, 2020. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo
4 minutes ago

Panasonic to Cut 10,000 Jobs, Expects $900 Million in Restructuring Costs

A United States Postal Service (USPS) collection box is pictured in Washington, U.S., December 18, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File photo
18 minutes ago

US Postal Service Reports $3.3 Billion Quarterly Net Loss

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
23 minutes ago

Iran Agrees to Fourth Round of Indirect Nuclear Talks With US on Sunday

Visalia police arrested two men and shut down a smoke shop Thursday, May 8, 2025, after discovering illegal marijuana sales during a search. (Visalia PD)
31 minutes ago

Visalia Smoke Shop Shut Down After Illegal Marijuana Sales Discovered

35 minutes ago

How Much Has Central Unified Shelled Out to Get Rid of Its Superintendents?

selma pd
46 minutes ago

Selma Bear Sighting Prompts Police, Wildlife Response

People watch as newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost of United States, shown on screen, appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, as seen from Rome, Italy May 8, 2025. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
48 minutes ago

Pope Leo Once Levied Criticism at Trump and Vance. MAGA Is Not Amused

16 hours ago

Republicans’ Trust in Media Increases Following Trump’s Return to White House

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend