Super Bowl ‘most watched’ telecast of all time
The NFL championship game brought in a record-breaking 123.7 million viewers.
The 2024 Super Bowl has smashed ratings records.
An audience of 123.7 million people — the highest number of people watching the same broadcast in the history of television — tuned in to watch the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers.
That figure surpassed last year’s record high of 115.1 million, when Kansas City triumphed over the Philadelphia Eagles, by 7%, according to figures from Nielsen and CBS, which broadcast the game.
The CBS broadcast alone attracted a staggering 112 million viewers, marking the largest audience ever for a single network. Paramount+, Nickelodeon, Univision, CBS Sports, and various NFL digital channels, including NFL+, collectively accounted for the remaining viewers. Paramount, the parent company of CBS, hailed it as the “most-watched telecast in history.”
According to Nielsen, a record-breaking 202.4 million individuals watched at least part of the game across all networks, reflecting a 10% increase from the previous year’s figure of 183.6 million.
The championship final on Sunday night had a lot working in its favour. Only the second of all 58 Super Bowls to go into overtime, it concluded with a game-winning touchdown pass, resulting in a final score of 25-22.
Usher, the biggest artist of 2004, delivered a breathless, career-spanning halftime show featuring A-list guests Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Will.i.am, Lil John, and Ludacris.
The customary celebrity-packed Super Bowl ads included a Verizon spot starring Beyoncé and Tony Hale, with Beyoncé using the opportunity to announce the upcoming release of her country album, Act II, the second act of her Renaissance trilogy, scheduled for March 29.
Then there was the presence of the megastar Taylor Swift, whose relationship with Kansas City’s starting tight end Travis Kelce has dominated the N.F.L. conversation all season.
While the exact impact of Swift’s appearance on viewership remains uncertain, a flash survey by consumer research firm Numerator revealed that 20% of 2024 Super Bowl viewers were supporting the Chiefs because of Kelce’s relationship with the pop star.
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