Super Bowl LVII becomes the the third most-watched TV program of all time

Super Bowl LVII, which saw the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, has delivered record ratings for Fox. The game averaged 113 million viewers across the broadcaster’s television and digital properties, making it the third most-watched TV program of all time. It was also the best audience for the Super Bowl in six years, topping 2022’s game, which averaged 112.3 million viewers on NBC. As expected, the largest viewing audiences for the game were in Kansas City and Philadelphia, followed by Cincinnati, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Norfolk, Charlotte, Minneapolis, and St. Louis.

Fox Sports noted that the Apple Music Halftime Show featuring Rihanna drew an average of 118.7 million viewers, making it the second most-watched performance in Super Bowl history. While linear television may be in decline, live sports events like the Super Bowl still attract huge audiences. However, this year’s figures also suggest that more viewers are turning to internet-based services to stream the event, with a record average of seven million people watching the game online.

However, the transition from linear TV to streaming platforms is also evident in the post-Super Bowl viewing figures. Only 15.5 million people stayed on Fox to watch Gordon Ramsay’s “Next Level Chef,” which was heavily promoted during the game. Vulture’s Josef Adalian has pointed out that this is the smallest audience for a post-Super Bowl hour in modern ratings history. Overall, the record-breaking Super Bowl ratings demonstrate that live sports remains a significant draw for viewers, but it also highlights the changing way in which audiences consume television content.