As would expect in a down year overall, Super Bowl ratings declined once again in the key young adult demographics.
Sunday’s Super Bowl 55 averaged a 26.5 rating in adults 18-49, down 11% from last year (29.9) and the game’s lowest rating in the demo since at least 1992. Since hitting a 40.5 in 2012 — the highest since 1996 — ratings in the demo have declined in nine consecutive years.
The 26.5 rating translates into 34.28 million viewers, down 11% from last year (38.67M) and down more than a third from the recent high-water mark set a decade ago (52.48M).
Adults 18-49 made up just 37% of the overall audience (34.3 of the 91.63 million), the smallest percentage since at least 2007. Since accounting for 51% of the audience in 2008, adults 18-49 have made up a smaller share of the audience in each subsequent year.
Ratings also declined double-digits in adults 18-34 (20.95, -13%) and 25-54 (30.7, -10%).
It is possible that some of the erosion in adults 18-49 is due to the increased streaming audience, which this year was estimated at a record 5.7 million per minute. While Nielsen includes some streaming viewership in its estimates, the bulk of streaming data reported by the networks is usually measured by other companies.
The Spanish-language simulcast on ESPN Deportes chipped in a 0.31 in adults 18-49, a 0.29 in 18-34 and a 0.67 in 25-54.
Overall ratings and viewership for the Super Bowl are available in this post. Local ratings are available in this post. For a chart of historic Super Bowl ratings, including all ratings in adults 18-49 dating back to 1999, visit this page. For all NFL ratings from the 2020 season, including demo ratings for every game, see this post.
Super Bowl viewership trend in adults 18-49
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 2.9]
