Super Bowl television ratings

Super Bowl television ratings have traditionally been high. One of the most watched annual sporting events in the world, the NFL's championship game is broadcast in over 130 countries in more than 30 languages. Viewership is predominantly North American; the Super Bowl is the most watched television broadcast in the United States every year.

United States English

The Super Bowl is noted for its enduring ratings. While viewership for prime time series and other annual events such as the Academy Awards has declined over time, viewership of the Super Bowl has remained stable. In fact, the Super Bowl is the American sports broadcast with the most consistent ratings, and draws substantially higher ratings than other sports events, including the NBA Finals and World Series.

Ratings for the Super Bowl first peaked from 1977 to 1987, when no less than 44.4% of American households with television sets would watch. From the late 2000s to mid-2010s, ratings peaked again—viewership grew for all but one broadcast from 2006 to 2015. This was attributed to the NFL's broadened appeal to female and Hispanic audiences, as well as the league's ability to prop up "high-profile" players in the media; female viewership grew every year from 2003 to 2008. However, the 2019 game became the least-watched in more than a decade and the household rating for the Super Bowl declined for the fourth consecutive year.

Super Bowl XVI in 1982 remains the highest-rated Super Bowl broadcast; it earned a 49.1 household rating. The viewership record belongs to Super Bowl LIX in 2025, which was watched by an estimated 127.7 million people.

+List of Super Bowl television ratings in the United States with selected figuresSuperBowlDateNetwork viewers(millions)Avg. Halftime Show Viewers (millions)Households18–49 demographic Avg. cost of 30-second ad Rating Share Rating Share Original inflation-adjusted I January 15, 1967 CBS 26.75 22.6 43 $42,500 $ NBC 24.43 18.5 36 $37,500 $ II January 14, 1968 CBS 39.12 36.8 68 $54,500 $ III January 12, 1969 NBC 41.66 36.0 70 $55,000 $ IV January 11, 1970 CBS 44.27 39.4 69 $78,200 $ V January 17, 1971 NBC 46.04 39.9 75 $72,500 $ VI January 16, 1972 CBS 56.64 44.2 74 $86,100 $ VII January 14, 1973 NBC 53.32 42.7 72 $88,100 $ VIII January 13, 1974 CBS 51.70 41.6 73 $103,500 $ IX January 12, 1975 NBC 56.05 42.4 72 $107,000 $ X January 18, 1976 CBS 57.71 42.3 78 $110,000 $ XI January 9, 1977 NBC 62.05 44.4 73 $125,000 $ XII January 15, 1978 CBS 78.94 47.2 67 $162,300 $ XIII January 21, 1979 NBC 74.74 47.1 74 $185,000 $ XIV January 20, 1980 CBS 76.24 46.3 67 $222,000 $ XV January 25, 1981 NBC 68.29 44.4 63 $275,000 $ XVI January 24, 1982 CBS 85.24 49.1 73 $324,300 $ XVII January 30, 1983 NBC 81.77 48.6 69 $400,000 $ XVIII January 22, 1984 CBS 77.62 46.4 71 $368,200 $ XIX January 20, 1985 ABC 85.53 46.4 63 $525,000 $ XX January 26, 1986 NBC 92.57 48.3 70 $550,000 $ XXI January 25, 1987 CBS 87.19 45.8 66 $600,000 $ XXII January 31, 1988 ABC 80.14 41.9 62 $645,000 $ XXIII January 22, 1989 NBC 81.59 43.5 68 $675,000 $ XXIV January 28, 1990 CBS 73.85 39.0 63 $700,400 $ XXV January 27, 1991 ABC 79.51 41.9 63 $800,000 $ XXVI January 26, 1992 CBS 79.59 40.3 61 35.6 61 $850,000 $ XXVII January 31, 1993 NBC 90.99133.4 45.1 66 $850,000 $ XXVIII January 30, 1994 90.00 45.5 66 39.9 76 $900,000 $ XXIX January 29, 1995 ABC 83.42 41.3 62 $1,150,000 $ XXX January 28, 1996 NBC 94.08 46.0 68 41.2 $1,085,000 $ XXXI January 26, 1997 Fox 87.87 43.3 65 38.5 74 $1,200,000 $ XXXII January 25, 1998 NBC 90.00 44.5 67 38.7 75 $1,291,100 $ XXXIII January 31, 1999 Fox 83.72 40.2 61 36.4 71 $1,600,000 $ XXXIV January 30, 2000 ABC 88.47 43.3 63 37.9 70 $2,100,000 $ XXXV January 28, 2001 CBS 84.34 40.4 61 35.8 71 $2,200,000 $ XXXVI February 3, 2002 Fox 86.80 40.4 61 34.7 70 $2,200,000 $ XXXVII January 26, 2003 ABC 88.64 40.7 61 36.4 70 $2,200,000 $ XXXVIII February 1, 2004 CBS 89.80 41.4 63 35.7 72 $2,302,200 $ XXXIX February 6, 2005 Fox 86.07 41.1 62 33.2 68 $2,400,000 $ XL February 5, 2006 ABC 90.7589.90 41.6 62 34.6 69 $2,500,000 $ XLI February 4, 2007 CBS 93.18 42.6 64 35.2 70 $2,385,365 $ XLII February 3, 2008 Fox 97.45 43.1 65 37.5 73 $2,699,963 $ XLIII February 1, 2009 NBC 98.73 42.0 64 36.7 72 $3,000,000 $ XLIV February 7, 2010 CBS 106.48 45.0 68 38.6 75 $2,800,000 $ XLV February 6, 2011 Fox 111.04110.2 46.0 69 39.9 77 $2,948,649 $ XLVI February 5, 2012 NBC 111.35114 47.0 71 40.5 78 $3,442,752 $ XLVII February 3, 2013 CBS 108.69110.8 46.4 69 39.7 77 $3,765,130 $ XLVIII February 2, 2014 Fox 112.19115.3 46.7 69 39.3 77 $4,084,864 $ XLIX February 1, 2015 NBC 114.44121 47.5 71 39.1 79 $4,283,129 $ 50 February 7, 2016 CBS 111.86115.5 46.6 72 37.7 79 $4,800,000 $ LI February 5, 2017 Fox 111.32117.5 45.3 70 37.1 79 $5,399,873 $ LII February 4, 2018 NBC 103.47106.6 43.1 68 33.4 78 $5,235,379 $ LIII February 3, 2019 CBS 98.4898.2 41.1 67 31.0 78 $5,199,916 $ LIV February 2, 2020 Fox 101.32104 41.6 69 30.1 77 $5,400,000 $ LV February 7, 2021 CBS 95.296.7 38.2 68 26.5 88 $5,500,000 $ LVI February 13, 2022 NBC 99.18103.4 36.9 72 29.5 $6,500,000$ LVII February 12, 2023 Fox 114.21121 40.4 33.8 $7,000,000 | $ }} LVIII February 11, 2024 CBS 120.25123.4 42.1 81 35.9 111 $7,000,000 | $ }} Nickelodeon 1.25 0.5 $250,000 | $ }} LIX February 9, 2025 Fox 127.7133.5 41.7 83 $7,500,000–$8,000,000 LX February 8, 2026 NBC 124.9 128.2 39.4 79 $8,000,000–$10,000,000

1967–1979

The first championship game was dubbed the "Super Nielsen Bowl" by the media. Variety predicted that the ratings for the game would be the most important of the year. At the time, CBS held the broadcasting rights to NFL games and NBC held the rights to AFL games. With one team from each league competing against each other, the two networks agreed to pay $1million each to simulcast Super Bowl I. As NFL games on CBS rated double those of AFL games on NBC during the regular season, CBS was able to charge advertisers tens of thousands of dollars more than NBC for 60-second commercials during the broadcast. For years, CBS had held the reputation of being "the pro football network," and was expected to live up to it. Preliminary ratings for the game—which was controversially blacked out in Greater Los Angeles—were released a day later and showed that the CBS feed was more popular than the NBC. Three weeks later, this was confirmed when the national Nielsen ratings were released, crowning CBS the winner of the first "network Nielsen Bowl."

Unlike Super Bowl I, the 1968 game was broadcast by only one network, CBS. The preliminary Arbitron ratings as reported by the network gave the game a 43.0 rating, a 76 share, and a total viewership of over 70million. However, the final Nielsen numbers later revealed the game was watched by 51.3million total viewers and received a 36.8 rating and a 68 share—less than Super Bowl I. In New York City, the game received a 36.3 rating and a 61 share. 1969's Super Bowl III received an initial rating of 39.9 and a share of 79 with over 60million total viewers. In New York City, the game registered a preliminary rating of 40.5 on NBC, more than eight times the combined rating of CBS and ABC broadcasts at the same time. Final numbers gave Super Bowl III a national rating of 36.0, lower than the previous year, though the total viewership was up from 51.3million to 54.5million.

In contrast with previous years, Super Bowl IV's ratings were largely underestimated. Overnight Nielsen ratings gave the 1970 game a 38.8 rating and a 70 share, with 57million total viewers; final numbers gave the game a 39.4 rating, 69 share, and 59.2million total viewers. The 1971 game was watched by 39.8% of American households, making the NBC broadcast the highest-rated sports event on a single network, beating the final game of the 1963 World Series This record would be broken again the following year when the 1972 CBS broadcast of Super Bowl VI was watched by 44.2% of households. In 1973, Super Bowl VII was the first game to be exempt from a local television blackout following the amendment of an NFL policy requiring them at the time. Although 3million more households were able to watch the game, the number of households that actually watched it increased by only 220,000 compared to the previous year, and the rating declined from a 44.2 to a 42.7. Likewise in 1974, the rating declined again to a 41.6, and total viewership for the game was 4.5million less than the year before.

The 1975 Super Bowl was televised for five hours on NBC. As a result, the number of viewers who watched at least six minutes of the broadcast (total viewers) increased from 63.2million to 71.3million—a new record for the game. The rating and average viewership also increased compared to the previous year. With the Steelers winning the game, the broadcast in Pittsburgh attracted a preliminary rating of 63 and a share of 88 in the city, meaning 88% of the households in the city with television sets in use were watching it. In Los Angeles, the game received a 78% share of the audience, compared to the combined shares of the broadcasts on CBS and ABC at the same time of 4%. Super Bowl X also saw an increase in ratings; total viewership for the 1976 game increased by 2million compared to the previous year and the national audience share was 78%, which remains the highest-ever number for the game on a single network.

In 1977, Super Bowl XI was watched by 81.9million total viewers, beating the Game 7 viewership of the 1975 World Series and becoming the most-watched sports broadcast in American history. The rating of 44.4 and average viewership of 62.1million also set new records for the game—all of which would be broken the following year when Super Bowl XII was the first to be broadcast in prime time in the Eastern Time Zone. As a result, total viewership grew by over 20million and the 1978 game became the most-watched single-network broadcast in U.S. history; 102million viewers watched at least five minutes. The audience share decreased to an all-time low, but the rating increased to a 47.2 from a 44.4 and average viewership increased by over 16million compared the previous year, setting new highs for the game. In 1979, the Super Bowl XIII broadcast recorded a drop in both average and total viewership, and the rating decreased by 0.1 to a 47.1, though all were the second-best numbers ever for the game and the share grew by 7 percentage points to a 74.

1980–1989

1990–1999

2000–2009

2010–2019

In the first half of the decade, total U.S. TV viewership generally increased every year, peaking in 2015 during Super Bowl XLIX on NBC in terms of average viewership (at 115 million people). While the trend for average Super Bowl ratings decreased in the second half of the decade, Super Bowl LI on Fox in 2017, the first Super Bowl ever decided in overtime, currently holds the record for the largest total viewership in Super Bowl (and U.S. television) history at 172 million people. The halftime shows from 2010 to 2017 alone outperformed the actual game in terms of average U.S. TV viewership.

2020s

Super Bowl LIV on Fox in 2020 opened up this decade amidst the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time and saw significant ratings improvement from the 2 previous Super Bowl editions, but suffered lower ratings the year after, with an average of 91.63 million alone on CBS - the lowest since 2006. In 2022, with the resumption of full venue attendances at NFL games, Super Bowl LVI on NBC saw an average of 99.18 million viewers and total of 101.09 million, with streaming contributing an extra 11 million for a total of 112.3 million people. This is currently the second biggest average viewership in Super Bowl (and U.S. television) history. The Spanish audience nearly tripled from the year prior.

Spanish Due to a growing Hispanic football fanbase, Spanish-language broadcasts of the Super Bowl by American channels began in 2014.