Postgame Super Bowl coverage dipped on CBS and ESPN but increased on NFL Network. In other news, the Late Show with Stephen Colbert could not measure up to previous Super Bowl lead-out shows, and the NFL Honors had a slight drop in viewership.
Super Bowl Postgame Down on CBS, ESPN, Up on NFL Network
- Postgame coverage of Super Bowl 50 earned a 30.2 final rating and 70.0 million viewers on CBS, down 3% in ratings and viewership from last year on NBC (31.1, 72.5M) but up 7% and 6%, respectively, from 2014 on FOX (28.3, 65.8M). On ESPN, the postgame NFL Primetime had a 1.2 and 2.2 million — down 14% in ratings and 22% in viewership from last year (1.4, 2.8M) and flat and down 8%, respectively, from ’14 (1.2, 2.4M). Bucking the trend, NFL Network scored a 0.6 (+50%) and 1.2 million (+83%) for NFL Gameday Final.
Live Late Show Hits Post-Super Bowl Low
- The Super Bowl lead-out show, a live edition of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, had a 10.3 final rating and 20.6 million viewers on CBS — down 22% in ratings and 20% in viewership from The Blacklist on NBC last year (13.2, 25.7M), down 16% and 22%, respectively, from a half-hour New Girl on FOX in 2014 (12.4, 26.3M), and the least-watched lead-out since Alias on ABC in 2003 (17.3M). It had a 7.7 rating among adults 18-49, down 8% from last year (8.4) and down a third from 2014 (11.4). Despite the declines, the show was the most-watched Late Show since a post-Olympics episode in 1994.
NFL Honors Slips
- Saturday’s NFL Honors drew a 2.8 final rating and 4.4 million viewers on CBS, flat in ratings and down 5% in viewership from last year on NBC (2.8, 4.7M) and up 47% and 41%, respectively, from 2014 on FOX (1.9, 3.1M). The 2.8 rating is tied as the highest for the annual awards show since it started in 2012, while viewership ranks second behind last year.
(Wknd. numbers via Programming Insider [1], [2], CBS Press Express)
