For the fifth time in six years, the Super Bowl set a new mark for the most-viewed telecast in U.S. TV history. NBC’s Patriots-Seahawks matchup from 6:31-10:10pm ET averaged 114.4 million viewers, eclipsing the mark of 112.2 million viewers set last year by Seahawks-Broncos. This year’s game also delivered a new Super Bowl audience record for the seventh time in eight seasons. While the viewership record fell again, the Super Bowl XLIX final rating of 47.5 marks only the fourth best on record, with the other three all coming in the mid '80s. It is the best since the ’86 Bears-Patriots matchup drew a 48.3. Patriots-Seahawks this year also marks the ninth-best rating in U.S. TV history (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor). Horizon Media Research Dir Brad Adgate noted the game "averaged a record high 54.0 million female viewers; 47.2% of the audience," while the median age for all viewers "increased to 44.7 from 43.7" last year (TWITTER.com, 2/3). In N.Y., Richard Sandomir notes viewership rose throughout the game, "from 99.5 million at the start to 120.8 million" from 9:45-10:00pm, during the Patriots' fourth-quarter, game-winning drive. In the last 15 minutes, the figure "dipped a smidgen" to 120.3 million (N.Y. TIMES, 2/3). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Joe Flint notes the game "was the seventh straight Super Bowl that drew over 100 million viewers." NBC’s big numbers "will likely ensure that CBS, which has the rights to next year’s Super Bowl, will be able to charge even more for a 30-second commercial" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/3). NBC Sports Chair Mark Lazarus said that the game "may have set another record even without the compelling finish" due to the buildup "involving the league's two top teams and a controversy over the inflation of footballs in the Patriots' conference championship." But the AP's David Bauder wrote the game's exciting finish "kept viewers glued to the tube" (AP, 2/2). In Boston, Mark Perigard writes the Patriots' Deflategate controversy is one factor to "explain the record viewership," as it "pumped up and then blew up interest ’round the country." The extra attention went "beyond the draw of watching two powerhouse teams competing." CBS will carry Super Bowl 50 next year, and the "question every network exec there has to wonder today: In hype, expectations and execution, how can next year’s Super Bowl possibly surpass this thriller?" (BOSTON HERALD, 2/3).
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MOST-VIEWED SUPER BOWL TELECASTS
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YEAR
|
SUPER BOWL
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NET
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RAT.
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VIEWERS (000)
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MATCHUP |
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'15
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XLIX
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NBC
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47.5
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114,442
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Patriots-Seahawks |
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'14
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XLVIII
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Fox
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46.7
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112,191
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Seahawks-Broncos |
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'12
|
XLVI
|
NBC
|
47.0
|
111,346
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Giants-Patriots |
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'11
|
XLV
|
Fox
|
46.0
|
111,010
|
Packers-Steelers |
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'13
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XLVII
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CBS
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46.3
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108,414
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Ravens-49ers |
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'10
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XLIV
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CBS
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45.0
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106,476
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Saints-Colts |
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'09
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XLIII
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NBC
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42.0
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98,732
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Steelers-Cardinals |
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'08
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XLII
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Fox
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43.1
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97,448
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Giants-Patriots |
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'96
|
XXX
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NBC
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46.0
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94,080
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Cowboys-Steelers |
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'07
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XLI
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CBS
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42.6
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93,184
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Colts-Bears |
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RISING TIDE: NBC averaged 72.7 million viewers from 6:00-6:30pm, marking the most-viewed Super Bowl pregame show on record (dating back to ’88). Katy Perry’s halftime show from 8:00-8:30pm drew 118.5 million viewers, also setting a record for a halftime performance (dating back to ’91). Following the game, NBC aired a new episode of “The Blacklist,” which drew 26.5 million viewers. That figure marks NBC’s most-viewed scripted show in a decade, dating back to the “Friends” finale in '04. NBC’s “The Tonight Show” drew 9.8 million viewers for a special post-Super Bowl edition, marking the show’s second-best audience, behind only host Jimmy Fallon’s premiere episode last year following a '14 Sochi Games telecast (
NBC). The N.Y. TIMES' Sandomir notes Perry's halftime show viewership was "nearly two million more than in the preceding half-hour of action, and 400,000 more than in the first half-hour of the second half." Sandomir: "The fact that as many as 121 million would tune in to a football game almost strains credulity" (
N.Y. TIMES, 2/3). BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield noted among shows airing after the Super Bowl since '88, "The Blacklist" drew the third-worst rating among adults 18-49 (
TWITTER.com, 2/3). Meanwhile, ESPN aired 346 hours of NFL programming during Super Bowl week across its networks, with U.S homes spending more than seven billion minutes viewing the coverage, which included "SportsCenter" produced from the Super Bowl host site for the first time. From the Pro Bowl on Jan. 25 through "NFL Primetime" following Patriots-Seahawks, fans watched 7.17 billion minutes of NFL programming (
ESPN).
ROOM FOR GROWTH: NBC Universo, formerly mun2, drew 368,000 viewers for the Spanish-language telecast of the Super Bowl, marking the net’s most-viewed, non-soccer telecast. This year was only the second time the Super Bowl had its own dedicated broadcast on a Spanish-language net. Patriots-Seahawks is down 34% from 561,000 viewers on Fox Deportes last year (Karp).
LOCAL NATIVES: In Chicago, Ed Sherman noted Patriots-Seahawks drew a 54.9 local rating on WMAQ-NBC, a figure "nearly five points higher than the 50.2" for the '07 Colts-Bears Super Bowl on WBBM-CBS. Parties and mass gatherings prevented the '07 rating from being "much, much higher," which "seems to support the long-time contention by the networks about the Super Bowl rating being too low" (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 2/2). In Milwaukee, Chris Foran notes the game drew a 52.3 local rating on WTMJ-NBC, high enough to "beat the local audience for last year's Super Bowl" (JSONLINE.com, 2/2). In Houston, David Barron noted the Super Bowl "registered a 47.6 rating" with a 69% audience share on KPRC-NBC, which "ranked 43rd among the 56 major markets" (CHRON.com, 2/2).
NORTH OF THE BORDER: An average audience of 9.2 million viewers watched the game in Canada on CTV and RDS, a 13% increase compared to the previous all-time Super Bowl record of 8.18 million for Super Bowl XLVI in '12. It also marks a 16% increase from last year's game. Overall, 19.3 million unique viewers watched some part of this year's Super Bowl on one of the two nets (CTV).
EXTRA, EXTRA: In Philadelphia, Bob Fernandez notes Comcast's Xfinity Sports Extras app throughout Sunday's game "fed TV viewers new pie charts, photos, or information graphs every 10 to 20 seconds -- facts those TV viewers did not have to find on ESPN or scour Twitter for." The updates came at both "dramatic and uneventful moments, even during commercials." Comcast for years has said that it would "make television an interactive experience." Finally, that "seems to be happening in sports." The app "debuted on the Xfinity Comcast cable system in mid-December, in preparation for the Super Bowl." Comcast officials said that they "could extend it" to MLB and college football games (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 2/3).
