The Super Bowl and related programming of course dominated Super Bowl Sunday, while the non-football slate included another milestone for Caitlin Clark and Iowa.
Sunday’s Super Bowl 58 averaged a combined 43.5 rating and 123.71 million viewers across CBS (42.1, 120.25M), Univision (0.9, 2.25M) and a “Spongebob Squarepants”-themed alternate presentation on Nickelodeon (0.49, 1.21M), marking the highest rated U.S. television program since Patriots-Falcons in 2017 (45.3) and the most-watched on record, with the caveat that official Nielsen records prior to 2020 do not include out-of-home viewing. (Patriots-Falcons averaged 124.6 million including out-of-home.)
The CBS broadcast peaked at 126.8 million from 8-8:15 PM ET and averaged 117.3 million during the final full quarter-hour, when Kansas City won in overtime.
The five-hour CBS pregame show averaged a 7.3 and 19.38 million, up 8% from a 6.7 and 14.54 million for the equivalent five-hour period on FOX last year. (Last year’s full FOX pregame show, which began an hour earlier, averaged a 5.9 and 12.51 million over six hours.) The pre-kick show — spanning the 40 minutes before kickoff — averaged a 28.0 and 75.79 million, up 7% and 6% respectively from last year’s 26.2 and 71.21 million.
The debut of the CBS documentary “You Are Looking Live!” — chronicling the history of the “NFL Today” pregame show — averaged a 1.8 and 3.11 million, down from a 2.5 and 4.39 million for last year’s comparable hour on FOX.
The postgame show averaged a 26.0 and 65.09 million, up 11% and 9% respectively from a 23.4 and 59.77 million for last year on FOX, despite airing a half-hour later due to the length of the game. The debut of the CBS series “Tracker” led out with a 9.1 and 18.44 million, up 28% and 16% respectively from last year’s lead-out, the debut of the FOX reality show “Next Level Chef” (7.1, 15.85M). As with the postgame show, the lead-out began a half-hour later (11:14 PM) than last year (10:37 PM).
On ESPN, “Sunday NFL Countdown” averaged a 0.7 and 1.27 million (+5%) and the postgame “NFL Primetime” a 0.9 and 1.92 million (+3%). NFL Network’s pregame “NFL Gameday Morning” averaged a 0.30 and 600,000 (+19%) and postgame “NFL Gameday Final” a and a 0.37 and 774,000 (-7%). During the game itself, NFL Network Gamecenter averaged a 0.05 and 115,000.
Outside of the Super Bowl, Sunday’s top sporting event was the final round of the PGA Tour Phoenix Open on NBC at a 1.3 and 2.38 million — down 38 and 35 percent respectively from last year (2.1, 3.67M) and the least-watched final round of the event in more than a decade. Taped LIV Golf from Las Vegas, airing the day after the tournament concluded, averaged a 0.07 and 121,000 on The CW.
Placing second, a Celtics-Heat NBA regular season game on ABC drew a a 1.2 and 2.13 million — the most-watched NBA game on Super Bowl Sunday since Thunder-Celtics in 2019 (2.52M). Ratings were flat and viewership increased 3% from Grizzlies-Celtics on Super Bowl Sunday last year (1.2, 2.07M).
In a rarity, overlapping women’s college basketball games both averaged one million viewers. FOX averaged a 1.0 and 1.77 million for Caitlin Clark and Iowa’s loss to Nebraska, trailing only Iowa’s loss to Ohio State on NBC last month (1.86M) as the most-watched women’s regular season game since 2010.
In an overlapping window on ESPN, UConn-South Carolina averaged a 0.6 and 1.05 million — down from LSU-South Carolina at a 0.8 and 1.47 million on Super Bowl Sunday last year, which faced no competing women’s game of note. Leading out of the UConn-South Carolina game, an Oklahoma State-UCLA softball matchup averaged a 0.22 and 404,000.
Super Bowl Sunday (February 11) sports ratings
