Super Bowl LV’s television audience is the LOWEST since 2007 as 94.4million viewers watch the Bucs’ 31-9 blowout of the Chiefs – but ratings in Boston surge as Patriots fans tune in to see their former quarterback Tom Brady
- For just the second time in the last decade, Sunday’s Super Bowl failed to attract 100 million viewers, instead totaling just 94.4 million watching on CBS
- The game had been touted for its quarterback matchup of Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes, but like other pandemic-era events, failed to meet expectations
- Many have suggested that sports TV ratings suffered because of athletes protesting during the anthem, but that was not the case before Super Bowl LV
- One potential factor was the lopsided score. According to reports, ratings began to decline when the Patriots pushed their lead over the Chiefs from 7-3 to 31-9
- The game got better ratings in the Boston area, where Brady played for two decades, than around Tampa, where he signed a two-year deal back in March
For just the second time in the last decade, Sunday’s Super Bowl failed to attract 100 million viewers, instead totaling just 94.4 million while still setting a new record for its streaming audience.
ViacomCBS revealed the Nielsen ratings Tuesday following the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ emphatic 31-9 Super Bowl LV victory over the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. The game had been touted for its quarterback matchup of Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes, but like much of biggest sporting events of the pandemic era, failed to meet expectations.
Many have suggested that sports TV ratings suffered because of athletes protesting during the national anthem, but that was not the case before Super Bowl LV. Likewise, there was no protesting before other events such as the Kentucky Derby and golf’s US Open, both of which also endured major audience declines during the pandemic.
ViacomCBS revealed the Nielsen ratings Tuesday following the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ emphatic 31-9 Super Bowl LV victory over the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. The game had been touted for its quarterback matchup of Tom Brady (pictured) vs. Patrick Mahomes, but like much of sporting events of the pandemic era, failed to meet expectation
There are more obvious potential factors, however.
As reported by CNBC, Dan Cohen, the senior vice president of Octagon’s global media rights consulting division, said his firm believes the lopsided score played a role in the disappointing ratings. Octagon’s analytics showed that the audience peaked when the score was just 7-3, but withered as Brady and the Buccaneers offense began heating up amid a flurry of costly Chiefs penalties.
Another factor may be recommendations from the CDC and other government health organizations against large gatherings for the game.
One interesting wrinkle in the Nielsen data was that in the Boston are, where Brady played for two decades, the ratings were actually hire than in Tampa, where he signed last March. According to John Ourand of Sports Business Daily, 57.6 percent of all TVs in the Boston area were tuned to the game compared to 52.3 percent in Tampa.
CBS Sports staff prepare before Super Bowl LV on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium
Sunday’s game marked the second time in the last three years that Brady played in a Super Bowl that failed to net 100 million TV viewers. Super Bowl LIII in February of 2019 drew only 98.19 million TV viewers as Brady’s New England Patriots won a defensive struggle with the Los Angeles Rams, 13-3. The total audience in 2019, however, did exceed 100 million people.
Nielsen’s ratings data suffered an unprecedented delay this week. The information is traditionally released the day following the Super Bowl, but according to Nielsen, figures were still being confirmed on Monday.
‘Super Bowl numbers are still being processed and verified,’ a spokesperson for the company told Deadline. ‘We anticipate that final viewing figures, which will include Out Of Home (OOH) viewing, will be available to the media tomorrow. We will update the press and the industry accordingly when a final timeline is confirmed.’
CBS said its streaming numbers were up 65 percent from last year, with 5.7 million viewers per minute. It was also the first time Super Bowl history that over 1 billion minutes were streamed online.
One interesting wrinkle in the Nielsen data was that in the Boston are, where Brady played for two decades, the ratings were actually hire than in Tampa, where he signed last March. According to John Ourand of Sports Business Daily, 57.6 percent of all TVs in the Boston area were tuned to the game compared to 52.3 percent in Tampa