Data: Super Bowl viewership up 20% in US
February 14, 2023
Approximately 124 million viewers across the US tuned into Super Bowl LVII on February 12th to witness the Kansas City Chiefs narrowly defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in high-scoring encounter.
To better understand the reach of the event, AdImpact has provided an analysis of viewership trends throughout the game:
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In the first quarter, viewership spiked at kick-off as people tuned into the game for the first time. During the national anthem, around 6:30PM, viewership was at 77 million. By kickoff at 6:43PM, 98.8 million fans were watching. With the ball in play, 104M people watched as the Eagles’ scored their first touchdown. After the first touchdown, viewers were greeted with a star-studded Dunkin Donuts ad with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.
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Following the commercial break, the Chiefs quickly bounced back, scoring their first touchdown less than 10 minutes later with 107.8 million viewers watching. Viewership continued to grow, with 114.6 million tuning in by the end of the first quarter.
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In the second quarter, viewership continued to climb even higher as the Eagles’ and Chiefs’ both scored their second touchdown. The Eagles’ scored their third touchdown with 120M viewers watching. The commercial break after the Eagles’ touchdown saw the return of the M&M candy mascots after the company sought to rebrand using Maya Rudolph as their mascot.
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When the Chiefs’ regained possession, steadily more viewers tuned in by the time Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes injured his ankle at 8:03PM. Viewership peaked at the end of the second quarter at about 124 million viewers, shortly after the Eagles’ catch was challenged and overturned. Although viewership slightly decreased by 1 million as the halftime game reviews were underway, 123.5 million people tuned in to watch Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime show, which was notable as it was her first performance in years.
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As the halftime performance winded down, viewership stood at 121 million to witness the start of the third quarter, with the Chiefs gaining possession. In the third quarter, viewership was defined by the beginning of the Chiefs’ comeback. Starting off the quarter with a 25 per cent win probability and going as low as 21 per cent, the Chiefs stayed competitive, raising that probability up to 34 per cent at the end of the quarter.
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Viewership in the third quarter peaked at 122 million views around 8:56PM, around the same time the Chiefs scored their third touchdown. After the third touchdown, FanDuel hosted their Kick of Destiny with Rob Gronkowski where fans could wager on the results. After the ad break, a key Eagles catch was challenged at 9:09PM with 121.5 million. Heading back to the commercial, Pop Corners aired a Breaking Bad themed ad. By the end of the quarter, there were 120 million viewers still tuned into the game.
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In the fourth quarter, viewership slightly decreased to 119 million viewers. However, the game remained competitive. The Chiefs began the quarter with a 37 per cent-win probability. They quickly scored their fourth touchdown with 120 million watching. When cutting to the commercial, fans were greeted with a Workday ad featuring some of their favorite rock stars such as Ozzy Osborne. Following an Eagles’ touchdown and a 2-point conversion, the game was tied at 35-35 with viewership at 118.9 million. Viewership would remain steady until it dropped to 109 million viewers at 10:04PM, around the 2-minute warning.
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Following the 2-minute warning, the viewership picked back up to 115 million as the Chiefs had possession and were nearing the goal line to claim the lead with a minute and a half to spare. Viewership began to steadily decline at 10:10PM following a defensive holding call on the Eagles, allowing the Chiefs to run down the clock and seemingly close the door on the Eagles clinching the Lombardi trophy. Between the time the Chiefs kicking a field goal to set the game score at 38-35 at 10:12PM, and the Eagles’ last play at 10:14PM, viewership dropped by a million. At the end of the game, 113.6 million viewers were watching. Overall, viewership remained steady throughout the game, most likely due to a competitive and high scoring Super Bowl game. Immediately following the game, viewership immediately plummeted. By the time of the Lombardi trophy celebration, viewership stood at 75.9 million views.
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Rick McGuire, Director of Sales at AdImpact, commented: “An extraordinary marquee event to complete the 2023 NFL season, Super Bowl LVII between the KC Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, and its Rhianna halftime entertainment show on Fox Network was truly an advertisers’ success. Viewership was 20 per cent higher than last year’s Super Bowl, reaching over 123 million viewers at the peak of halftime. Advertisers who participated in this year’s big game experienced consistent higher ratings as the two teams battled down to the final field goal of the game. The combination of a close game and a younger-skewed halftime show, made for the perfect combination to keep viewers interest right to the final seconds.”