With an estimated 100 million Americans watching the Super Bowl each year, the 2023 edition lived up to expectations in terms of both entertainment and viewership.
It was touted as one of the best championship matchups in years, and it really did. The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City His Chiefs played the thriller of a football game that, albeit controversially, was decided in the final minutes. The Chiefs eventually lifted Lombardi his trophy, but both teams’ performances were impressive.
Super Bowl 2023 is the third most-watched US broadcast ever
Many had to see it happen too. Official viewership for Super Bowl 2023 reached his 113 million mark, making it the third most-watched show in US television history. Rihanna’s performance was watched by even more television as halftime broadcasts of his show peaked at his 118.7 million. According to FOX, he’s a 15% increase over viewers who watched last year’s halftime show featuring Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and more. This marked the highest viewership for his single event in FOX history.
However, it wasn’t the most watched Super Bowl ever. That difference belongs to Super Bowl XLIX, his classic 2015 battle between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. The match earned him 114.4 million viewers, making it his second most-watched U.S. television event to date.
What other broadcasts can match the NFL?
Although there are no official figures, the most watched TV event of all time was the Apollo 11 footage from the Moon. In 1969 he is said to have been watched live by 125 million to 150 million Americans.
Otherwise, football is historically and still king. Eight of his 10 most-watched telecasts were the Super Bowl, with outliers being footage of Apollo 11 and Richard Nixon’s presidential resignation speech. 2022 is still dominated by football, with 82 of the top 100 broadcasts by viewership being his NFL games.
FOX benefited as 30-second ad space reportedly cost businesses more than $7 million this year. Next year’s Super Bowl will be broadcast by CBS and will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada for the first time. Look for it to be near the top of the most watched shows of all time, depending on that game matchup.