Super Bowl XLIII may have lacked the star power from previous Super Bowls, but the game still drew a truly massive audience.
The Steelers’ win over the Cardinals on Sunday drew 95.4 million viewers on NBC Sunday evening, down 2% from a record-setting 97.5 million for Giants/Patriots last year. The 95.4 million viewers is the second most ever for the Super Bowl, behind only last year’s game.
The 95.4 million viewers is the third most for any television program in U.S. history, behind only the aforementioned Super Bowl XLII and a 1983 episode of M*A*S*H. Additionally, Steelers/Cardinals finishes as the most watched television program on NBC since the series finale of Seinfeld in 1998 (76.3 million), and the most watched sporting event on the network since the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics (45.6 million).
The last three Super Bowls have been three of the four most viewed ever, with the last two taking the top spots. NBC has now aired three of the five most viewed Super Bowls.
Most viewed Super Bowls.
97.5 mil: XLII, Giants/Patriots (Sun., 2/3/08 FOX)
95.4 mil: XLIII, Steelers/Cardinals (Sun., 2/1/09 NBC)
94.1 mil: XXX, Cowboys/Steelers (Sun., 1/28/96 NBC)
93.2 mil: XLI, Colts/Bears (Sun., 2/4/07 CBS)
92.6 mil: XX, Bears/Patriots (Sun., 1/26/86 NBC)
