Tom Brady’s tenth Super Bowl appearance outdrew all-but-one of his previous nine in Boston, no small feat given he no longer plays for their home team.
Sunday’s Buccaneers-Chiefs Super Bowl 55 averaged a 57.6 rating in Boston, the market’s second-best Super Bowl rating ever behind only Patriots-Seahawks in 2015 (61.0). The rating increased 1% over the Patriots’ last Super Bowl appearance two years ago, when Brady won his final ring with the team (57.1), and 13% over last year’s Chiefs-49ers game (50.9).
Boston ranked second among metered markets behind only Kansas City, whose 59.9 rating increased 8% from the Chiefs’ win last year (55.7). Though the highest Super Bowl rating ever in K.C., the 59.9 trailed the Chiefs’ AFC Championship against the Bills two weeks earlier (61.9). The corresponding share was not available.
Tampa-St. Petersburg ranked third with a 52.3 rating, down less than 1% from the Buccaneers’ previous Super Bowl appearance 18 years ago (52.7). Ratings increased 6% from the last time Tampa hosted the Super Bowl in 2009 (49.2), with the obvious caveat that this year’s game had the advantage of including the home team.
Buffalo was the top neutral market, ranking fourth at a 51.4 rating and 75 share. Last year’s rating in the market was not immediately available.
According to Sports Business Daily, the game also topped a 50 rating in Minneapolis-St. Paul (50.4, -1%) and Norfolk, Va. (50.3, +7%).
Other notable markets include Patriots secondary market Providence, R.I., which in contrast to Boston saw its ratings slip 3% to a 48.9. Per
New Orleans, which for years was one of the top rated Super Bowl markets, ranked 39th at a 43.2/62 for the coronation of the Saints’ NFC South rivals.
Nationally, the Super Bowl averaged its lowest rating since 1969 with a 38.2 and posted its smallest audience since 2006 with 91.63 million (96.4 million including streaming). Additional details on Sunday’s Super Bowl numbers are available in this post.
Ratings for Tom Brady’s Super Bowl appearances in Boston
[Nielsen estimates from CBS, Sports Business Daily 2.8]
