Saints fans pledged to boycott Super Bowl 53 and they stuck to their word.
New Orleans ranked dead last among the 56 metered markets for Sunday’s Super Bowl 53. Patriots-Rams scored a 26.1 rating in the market, down 51% from last year (53.0) and down 46% from 2017 (48.4).
According to Sports Business Daily, the 26.1 is the lowest Super Bowl rating ever in the market.
Typically, New Orleans is one of the NFL’s strongest neutral markets. It ranked seventh for last year’s Super Bowl. Saints fans were incensed by a blown call in the NFC Championship Game, and talk of a Super Bowl boycott percolated throughout the two-week bye.
Due to its small size, New Orleans’ Super Bowl boycott did not have a decisive impact on Sunday’s numbers. New Orleans contributed approximately 175,000 fewer TV homes than last year, equivalent to a 0.15 rating.
Boston, home of the victorious Patriots, led all markets with a 57.1 rating — up 2% from New England’s loss last year (55.9) and up 5% from their unlikely 2017 win, in which they trailed by as many as 25 (54.3).
The 57.1 is the second-highest for a Patriots Super Bowl in Boston during the Tom Brady era, trailing only the team’s 2015 win over Seattle (61.0). Sunday’s overnight topped the Red Sox’ World Series clincher last October by 32% (43.2).
Richmond, Va., ranked second among metered markets with a 52.6 rating. Buffalo was third at a 52.4.
Sunday’s game had a 44.6 rating in Los Angeles, the highest Super Bowl rating in the market since 1996, per Sports Business Daily.
New Orleans was not the only aggrieved market tuning out the Super Bowl. Per Houston Chronicle writer David Barron, Sunday’s game had a 46.4 rating in Kansas City, down 11% from last year (52.2). The Chiefs were the victims of some questionable calls in the AFC Championship Game.
Ratings in St. Louis, home of the Rams from 1995-2015, were not immediately available.
[Numbers from CBS, Sports Business Daily 2.4, David Barron/Twitter 2.4]
