This year’s Super Bowl saw the basically-expected huge number of viewers, but did they crack any records in terms of ratings?
When it comes to the history of the NFL and the Super Bowl, last night’s fifty-first game set or tied a total of 31 records, including the biggest comeback victory and the most Super Bowl appearances for any team. The New England Patriots secured their fifth championship in the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era, and even made history by sending the game to overtime in order to do it. Unsurprisingly, millions watched it. However, according to Variety, the game didn’t set any records in terms of viewership.
Instead, approximately 111.3 million people on average watched the game on Fox last night. Add in an additional average of 1.7 million people watching official streams, and you have roughly 113 million people watching the game in English alone. (Approximately 650,000 watched on Fox Deportes.)
Alas, the Patriots couldn’t break their own viewership record. Their last appearance, Super Bowl 49 on NBC, pulled in 114.9 million viewers on average. Then again, that had a compelling narrative. The Seattle Seahawks trying to repeat as Super Bowl champions against the long-established Patriots dynasty.
So, does it really mean anything that this year’s iteration of the big game didn’t make history for TV? Variety notes that at this point, actual numbers don’t matter that much. Check out the top 10 single broadcasts from last year, according to Nielsen. Almost all of them are sporting events, and most of them come from the NFL. This year’s big game will almost certainly take the top spot. However, the fact that not even history can bring in more viewers to the NFL may be a little concerning for those who have kept their eyes on the league’s wobbly and declining ratings this year.
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We’ll just have to see how next year turns out.