The Super Bowl was again the most-watched program in U.S. television history, but the three-decade high in ratings might be the real headline.
Sunday’s Patriots/Seahawks Super Bowl 49 earned a 47.5 rating and 114.4 million viewers on NBC, according to Nielsen fast-nationals — up 2% in ratings and viewership from Seahawks/Broncos on FOX last year (46.7, 112.2M) and up 2% and 5%, respectively, from Ravens/49ers on CBS in 2013 (46.4, 108.7M). Viewership peaked at a whopping 120.8 million from 9:45-10 PM ET.
The Patriots’ comeback win ranks as the most-watched program in U.S. television history, topping the previous mark set last year. The Super Bowl has set an all-time TV viewership record in five of the last six seasons.
This year’s game also ranks as the highest rated Super Bowl since Bears/Patriots in 1986 (48.3) and the highest rated program overall since coverage of the 1994 Winter Olympics drew a 48.5 on CBS. Overall, the 47.5 makes Super Bowl 49 the ninth-highest rated TV program in U.S. TV history, and the first Super Bowl to crack the top ten since Bears/Patriots.
The ratings milestone is arguably more impressive than the viewership record. Viewership is as much fueled by population growth as it is by popularity, and the Super Bowl seems likely to set a new record virtually every year for the foreseeable future. Ratings, on the other hand, provide a measure of popularity that is comparable across time periods — and for this year’s Super Bowl to rank on a list that is occupied mostly by shows in the 1970s and 1980s (when there were far fewer channels) is impressive.
Keep in mind of course that Nielsen fast-nationals are not final. While there are usually minimal differences between the fast-nationals and the finals, last year’s Super Bowl added 0.3 ratings points and nearly one million more viewers in the final tally.
The recent surge in Super Bowl viewership has been well documented, but it is worth noting that the Patriots’ previous win ten years ago had a ‘mere’ 41.1 and 86.1 million on FOX. That was the last Super Bowl to earn fewer than 90 million viewers.
(Sun. numbers via NBC Sports Group Press Box)
