Last Sunday over 100 million people watched as Harrison Butker kicked a go-ahead field goal with 11 seconds left to give the Kansas City Chiefs a 38-35 lead over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 57. The kick, a mere 27 yarder, was set up by a controversial defensive holding call on Eagles’ corner James Bradberry on a third down just a minute and a half earlier.
While the penalty and ensuing kick were seen by many as an anticlimactic ending to an extraordinary game, one thing is certain: the Super Bowl is still considered essential television viewing in the United States.
The Super Bowl is not only the biggest sports game but also the largest television event of the year in the U.S. This year was no different; the Super Bowl drew over 113 million average viewers on February 12 as the Chiefs defeated the Eagles in a back and forth thriller, according to average U.S. television audience estimates from Nielsen.
Super Bowl 57 was the second most viewed Super Bowl of all-time behind Super Bowl 49 in 2015, when the Seattle Seahawks fell to the New England Patriots on a historic last second interception on the goal line, according to television audience estimates from Nielsen.
This year’s broadcast broke a recent trend of decreasing viewership, as the Super Bowl had failed to average over 105 million television viewers for five straight years. Before the slump, the big game had averaged over 105 million television viewers for eight straight Super Bowls from 2010-2017.
Some key factors to high viewership in the Super Bowl tends to be high initial engagement, a good halftime show, high scoring, and a close game or exciting ending to a game, according to SBJ sports viewership writer Austin Karp. This year’s game had, by most accounts, all elements of this formula.
“Strong quarterback play is important. Nobody wants to watch that Ravens’ 2000 defense, nobody wants to watch the Bears’ ‘86 defense nowadays,” Karp said. “People want to watch a shootout. They want to see a 38-35 score. That’s why you saw such an incredible number.”
The halftime show is proving to be increasingly important to viewership. A good show guarantees some people will tune in to the broadcast regardless of what’s going on in the game.
The Super Bowl 57 halftime show, which saw Rhianna make her return to the mainstage, received generally positive reviews. Although the show may not have been as flashy as past years and did not include any surprise guest artists, it still garnered great viewership.
This year’s huge viewership success may be a surprise to some, but others almost expected it.
Mike Mulvihill, EVP and Head of Strategy & Analytics at FOX, had predicted a new viewership record at Super Bowl 57, explaining that the markets of Philadelphia and Kansas City, mixed with the host city of Phoenix, could help see totals rise over 115 million, per the Sports Business Journal. And although the viewership didn’t quite meet his expectations, it was fairly close.
Although globally the Super Bowl is not a viewership powerhouse, for example the World Cup final in 2022 saw almost 1.5 billion viewers, it definitely rules all television events in the United States.
The Super Bowl takes up 29 of the top 30 most watched television broadcasts in the United States. The only non-Super Bowl to crack the top 30 is the M*A*S*H episode “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen”, which aired in 1983 and saw 106 million Americans tune in.
The only programming that delivers even half of the Super Bowl audience numbers is the NFL during the AFC or NFC championship.
Another appeal of the Super Bowl is the prominence of high paid advertisements. Over the years Super Bowl advertisements have evolved into a viewing spectacle of their own and have companies spending as much as $7 million in 2023 just for a 30 second time slot.
Some companies may shell out millions buying multiple 30 second commercials. The Super Bowl has almost 50 percent of its viewership from women, meaning companies can target and reach a large and diverse audience.
The streaming company Tubi stole the show this year, with a commercial that had viewers cursing their TV and scrambling for their remote. The commercial replicated a return from a commercial break and then “changed the channel” as one would on a smartTV, causing viewers to go into a panic when in reality it was a 15-second commercial.
Google Trends, which ranks a search term’s popularity from 0-100, 100 being most popular, saw the term “Tubi” go from a seven at 7 p.m. on Sunday to a 100 at 10 p.m. the same night.
The Super Bowl has only ever been covered by four networks, ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC. The Super Bowl rights are given to one network a year, with Super Bowl 1 being the only exception with both NBC and CBS as broadcasters.
CBS has broadcast 21 Super Bowls, one more than NBC. FOX only had the rights to ten and did not broadcast a Super Bowl until 1997. ABC has broadcast just seven, and has not had the rights to a Super Bowl broadcast since 2006 when their deal with the NFL ran out.
Next year begins the first year of a new TV contract for the NFL, and the Super Bowl will be broadcast by CBS. Starting next year, the rights to the big game will rotate between CBS, Fox, NBC and ABC, putting ABC back in the mix for the first time since February 2006. CBS, FOX, and NBC will air three Super Bowls in this contract period and ABC will air two.
With the success of this year’s broadcast experts believe that, in all likelihood, viewership will only continue to increase.
“I don’t think there is any other way to look at it, the Super Bowl, as a cap on an incredibly successful TV viewership season,” said Karp. “It’s kind of cliche at this point but it’s the only real gathering spot for Americans now. A single gathering spot during the course of a calendar year. I mean, nothing even comes close.”