On February 11, the Super Bowl LVIII game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers saw an average of 123.4 million viewers. The CBS broadcast was the highest in the event’s history.
The highly anticipated tie surpassed the previous most-watched Super Bowl, which was last year’s tie between the Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, which saw an average of 115 million viewers. The Vegas showdown was such a large tune-in for one single event that it almost caught up with the most-watched TV broadcast set in 1969. It was the infamous Appolo Moon landing that drew an estimated crowd of between 125 and 150 million.
Even before the game on Sunday kicked off, the 2023-24 NFL season has been one of the most watched campaigns in recent history. Just a week ago, the AFC Championship broadcast on FOX saw an average of 56 million viewers, and the NFC Championship game on CBS saw an average of 55 million views.
CBS says the Super Bowl LVIII matchup between the 49ers and Chiefs was the most-watched telecast in history, averaging 123.4 million viewers across all platforms. pic.twitter.com/DliwzKygqT
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 13, 2024
Why did Super Bowl 58 draw in such viewership numbers?
A confluence of factors played a massive part in attracting so many eyes to their TV sets. First of all, football always has a large crowd following it by itself. Naturally, fans will tune in to watch the biggest sporting event in the country, regardless of which team is playing.
It aired on several networks, including CBS, Paramount+, Nickelodeon, Univision, and NFL digital properties, including NFL+. The Chiefs vs. 49ers saw a 7% increase from the previous year’s game. The soaring figures combined with Nielsen and Adobe Analytics represent people tuning in to watch the game at any given time. However, Nielsen puts the number much higher at an average of 202.4 million, which is 10% higher.
Travis Kelce (#87) celebrates with girlfriend Taylor Swift after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium. Paradise Allegiant Stadium Nevada USA (Image via IMAGO)Besides the game, the festivities surrounding the event also attract a lot of curious eyes to the Super Bowl. Prior to the start of the game at Allegiant Stadium, Reba McIntire‘s rendition of the National Anthem was a massive crowd-puller. Usher headlined the half-time performance and brought several notable faces like Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Will.i.am, Lil John, Ludacris, and Jermaine Dupri.
Yet the biggest name associated with this year’s Super Bowl, barring the players, was Taylor Swift. When the 14th Grammy winner is involved, Swifties will quickly follow suit.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Bob Bakish, the chief executive of CBS parent company Paramount Global, said,
She [Taylor Swift] is without a doubt incremental to the audience on the NFL. She’s a great addition, widening the net of the NFL viewer.
Accompanied by Blake Lively and Ice Spice, the 34-year-old pop icon showed up at the Vegas Stadium to cheer for her boyfriend. The Chiefs all-pro tight end is Travis Kelce. A pole from Variety suggested that 20% of the viewers were rooting for a Chiefs victory. This is a clear indication of the Swift influence working its magic.
On the football side of things, the NFL makes up the vast majority of the most-watched TV programs. In 2023, 93 of the 100 most-watched TV telecasts were NFL games.
