Upon Further Review, Super Bowl LVII Was Most-Watched U.S. TV Show Ever
Super Bowl LVII’s ratings success comes as other staple shows saw a decline. Photo: Brynn Anderson/Associated Press By Isabella Simonetti May 2, 2023 8:00 am ET The most recent Super Bowl, it turns out, was the most-watched TV show in U.S. history after all. The Feb. 12 matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles had been watched by more than 2 million more people than previously reported, according to a statement Tuesday from Fox, which was the broadcaster of Super Bowl LVII. The undercounting was due to errors experienced by Nielsen, Fox said. The new, updated data showed that 115.1 million households watched the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, beating the previous record holder—the 2015 Super Bowl XLIX on NBC, which averaged an audienc
Super Bowl LVII’s ratings success comes as other staple shows saw a decline.
Photo: Brynn Anderson/Associated Press
The most recent Super Bowl, it turns out, was the most-watched TV show in U.S. history after all.
The Feb. 12 matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles had been watched by more than 2 million more people than previously reported, according to a statement Tuesday from Fox, which was the broadcaster of Super Bowl LVII. The undercounting was due to errors experienced by Nielsen, Fox said.
The new, updated data showed that 115.1 million households watched the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, beating the previous record holder—the 2015 Super Bowl XLIX on NBC, which averaged an audience of 114.4 million viewers.
In February, Nielsen had said the game had been watched by 113 million, which made it the third most-watched television show of all time.
The latest viewership numbers further cemented the Super Bowl as a ratings juggernaut at a time when traditional television viewership is declining. Other staple events such as the Oscars have seen ratings drop in recent years, which makes events like the Super Bowl increasingly important to advertisers. Some Super Bowl LVII commercials were priced at over $7 million, a record, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.
“The revised Super Bowl viewership figure is the result of a thorough review by Nielsen that revealed irregularities in the encoding that enables Nielsen’s measurement of TV viewing as well as in the measurement of out-of-home viewing,” Fox said in a statement. “We appreciate Nielsen’s commitment to producing the most accurate viewership figure possible.”
Fox parent Corp. and Wall Street Journal parent News Corp share common ownership.
“We strive to meet the highest standards for transparency and accuracy in audience measurement,” Nielsen said in a statement. “We appreciate the support and collaboration from our partners at FOX and the NFL to correct previously unknown errors to ultimately provide a more accurate measure for this year’s total audience for the game.”
Write to Isabella Simonetti at [email protected]
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