Here’s a question that needs a good answer. If 96.4 million viewers in America watched Super Bowl LV on Sunday, what the heck were the other 231,800,000 people doing?
Granted, the actual game between the Bucs and Chiefs was a dud, but it did have major star power, with Tom Brady beating Patrick Mahomes for his seventh career Super Bowl title.
The game did do well on the internet, as it ranks as the most live-streamed NFL game ever, with an average minute audience of 5.7 million viewers. That is a 65% increase over last year.
While the total viewership was a disappointment for CBS, the game was far and away the most-viewed broadcast of the year so far, and will hold that distinction for the next 10 months.
It was the least-watched Super Bowl since the Colts and Bears met back in 2007. Sorry, CBS, but you televised that one too.
The Weeknd did not do CBS any favors with his dull and uninspiring half time performance. His odd showing fit the mood of the evening perfectly though, as the country is still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic and feeling a collective lull, and viewers were reeling from watching a game that was never competitive.
Just six years ago the largest Super Bowl television numbers ever were recorded by NBC, with 114.5 million viewers, but traditional viewing habits are going away, as millions of people cut the cord each year and rely on streaming platforms.
The lower viewership numbers might be something that advertisers can take advantage of next year, as ad rates for Super Bowl commercials are based off ratings numbers, so there’s a chance the price of a :30 spot next February could hold steady or see a much smaller increase than usual.
Here’s the most fascinating data to come out of the ratings report. The city of Boston apparently is having a very hard time saying goodbye to Tom Brady. While the Kansas City market was the top-rated market nationally, with a rating of 59.9, Boston scored the second-highest ratings in the U.S. with a rating of 57.6. The Tampa-St. Petersburg market was third, with a rating of 52.3.
One network did report good news when it came to ratings from Saturday. Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand reported that the Animal Planet attracted 2.107 people to watch Puppy Bowl XVII. A thriller that saw Team Ruff defeat Team Fluff.
Those ratings signify a 14% increase over last year.
So the dog of a game in Tampa had viewership numbers that were way down. While dogs playing a game in Glens Falls, NY drew record numbers.
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