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- 2022 NFL showpiece is most-streamed Super Bowl on record with 11.2m viewers
- Last year’s Super Bowl netted lowest rating since 2007 when 96.4m tuned into CBS
Viewing figures for the 2022 Super Bowl rebounded after a below par showing last year, with US media giant NBCUniversal averaging 112.3 million viewers across its platforms, up 16.5 per cent on 2021’s National Football League (NFL) showpiece.
The game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams averaged 99.2 million viewers on NBC and 1.9 million viewers on Spanish language network Telemundo.
Streaming service Peacock, other digital platforms and connected devices added another 11.2 million viewers, becoming the most-streamed Super Bowl on record and nearly double the 5.7 million for last year’s event.
The overall viewing figures make Super Bowl LVI the most-watched single telecast in two years. The 2020 edition of the game initially drew a viewership of more than 102 million across Fox Sports’ television and digital platforms. The total US audience for that year’s Super Bowl was actually closer to between 135 million and 140 million people, according to a Nielsen study commissioned by the NFL.
The 2021 Super Bowl drew 96.4 million total viewers across all platforms for CBS, the lowest domestic ratings for the game since 2007 and five per cent down on 2020.
The figures round off what has been a strong season of ratings for the NFL. Regular season live broadcasts reached an average national audience of 17.1 million across the league’s US broadcast partners’ linear and digital platforms, up ten per cent on the 2020 campaign. The divisional round playoff games managed an average of 38.2 million domestic viewers, the highest number ever recorded for that stage of the postseason.
According to a study by Sports Business Journal, NFL games made up 75 of the top 100 most-watched broadcasts in the US in 2021.
