It’s said that 100 million Americans watch the Super Bowl each year, and the 2023 version lived up to the billing in terms of entertainment and viewership.
It was heralded as one of the best championship matchups in years, and it was. The Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs played an exciting game of American football, one that was decided in the final minutes, albeit a controversial one. The Chiefs ended up hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in the end, but the performances from both teams were memorable.
Super Bowl 2023 is the third most watched American telecast in history
Lots of people got to see it happen too. Viewership for Super Bowl 2023 officially registered 113 million, making it the third most-watched show in American television history. There were even more TVs tuned in for Rihanna’s performance, as streaming peaked at 118.7 million during the halftime show. According to FOX, that number is a 15 percent increase over the audience that watched last year’s halftime show with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and others. It was the largest audience for a single event in FOX history.
However, it was not the most watched Super Bowl in history. That distinction belongs to Super Bowl XLIX, the classic 2015 battle between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. That game garnered 114.4 million viewers and is the second most watched US television event in history. The 2023 version barely beat out last year’s game between the Rams and Bengals, which had a viewership of 112.3 million.
What other broadcasts rival the NFL?
There’s no official number, but the most watched television event of all time was the footage of Apollo 11 from the moon. It is said that between 125 and 150 million Americans saw it live in 1969.
For the rest, football is king, both historically and today. Eight of the ten most-watched television broadcasts have been Super Bowls, with the outliers being the footage of Apollo 11 and President Richard Nixon’s resignation speech. Football ruled in 2022 as well, as 82 of the top 100 broadcasts in terms of viewership were NFL games.
FOX reaped the benefits, as a 30-second ad slot was reported to have cost companies more than $7 million this year. Next year’s Super Bowl will be broadcast on CBS and will be played in Las Vegas, Nevada for the first time in history. Depending on the matchup in that game, look for it to be near the top of the most watched shows of all time.
