NBC’s Eagles-Patriots Super Bowl LII Telecast Ranks as Top 10 Show in U.S. TV History
NBC’s TV Audience Tops Prior Eagles-Patriots Super Bowl By 20%
NBC Sports Digital Sets Super Bowl Records Averaging More Than 2 Million Viewers per Minute & Peaking at 3+ Million Viewers
Post-Super Bowl Episodes of “This is Us” and “Tonight Show” Post Big Numbers
MINNEAPOLIS – Feb. 5, 2018 – Super Bowl LII on NBC, featuring the Philadelphia Eagles winning their first Super Bowl with a 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots, posted a Total Audience Delivery of 106 million viewers, across all platforms – NBC, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, NBC.com ‘TV Everywhere,’ Universo, En Vivo app, NFL.com, NFL Mobile from Verizon, the Yahoo Sports app, and go90, according to Fast National data released today by The Nielsen Company, and digital data from Adobe Analytics.
The numbers do not include Out Of Home Viewers, which will not be available until Thursday from Nielsen. OOH will increase the audience measured by several million people.
The game (6:31-10:25 p.m. ET) averaged 103.4 million viewers on NBC, which ranks as a Top 10 show in U.S. TV history, and will be by far the most-watched show of the year, more than doubling viewership for the AFC Championship Game (44.1 million on 1/21/18), which will likely end 2018 as the No. 2 program.
Viewership peaked at 112.3 million from 10-10:15 p.m. ET during the fourth quarter.
“With an all-time Top 10 audience, the Super Bowl once again proved that it’s the most dominant and consistent property on television,” said Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBC Broadcasting & Sports. “Super Bowl LII delivered for all of our partners, and provided us with the unique opportunity to give America a look ahead at the Olympic Winter Games, which begin live on NBC this Thursday night.”
Viewership for last night’s game marked a 20% increase from the prior Super Bowl between these two teams, a three-point Patriots’ victory in January 2005 (86.1 million viewers for Super Bowl XXXIX). Super Bowl LII on NBC delivered a household rating of 43.1 with a 68 share – up 5% from the prior Eagles-Patriots Super Bowl (41.1/62)
MOST-WATCHED PROGRAMS IN U.S. TELEVISION HISTORY*
- 114.4 Million – Super Bowl XLIX, NBC (Feb. 2015)
- 112.2 Million – Super Bowl XLVIII, FOX (Feb. 2014)
- 111.9 Million – Super Bowl 50, CBS (Feb. 2016)
- 111.3 Million – Super Bowl XLVI, NBC (Feb. 2012)
- 111.3 Million – Super Bowl LI, FOX (Feb. 2017)
- 111.0 Million – Super Bowl XLV, FOX (Feb. 2011)
- 108.7 Million – Super Bowl XLVII, CBS (Feb. 2013)
- 106.5 Million – Super Bowl XLIV, CBS (Feb. 2010)
- 106.0 Million – M.A.S.H. Finale, CBS (Feb. 1983)
- 103.4 Million – Super Bowl LII, NBC (Last night’s game)
*for Super Bowls, includes only full game telecasts
NBC-TV HALF HOUR VIEWERSHIP (Times ET):
6:31-7, 89.4 million
7-7:30, 98.5 million
7:30-8, 102.7 million
8-8:30, 106.4 million
8:30-9, 106.4 million
9-9:30, 106.5 million
9:30-10, 108.5 million
10-10:25, 109.2 million
NBC PREGAME & POST-GAME SHOWS UP FROM LAST YEAR:
- From 6-6:31 p.m. ET, NBC’s Super Bowl LII Pre-Game Show averaged 64.3 million viewers, a five percent increase from the similar time period last year (61.3 million viewers).
- The NBC Super Bowl LII Post-Game Show (10:25-10:45 p.m. ET) averaged 73.5 million viewers – the best viewership for a Super Bowl postgame since 2014 and up 20% from last year (61.1 million viewers).
SUPER BOWL LII IS MOST STREAMED SUPER BOWL EVER:
Super Bowl LII is the most live-streamed Super Bowl ever, delivering an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 2.02 million viewers via the NBC Sports app, NBCSports.com, NBC.com ‘TV Everywhere,’ En Vivo app, NFL.com, NFL Mobile from Verizon, the Yahoo Sports app, and go90. Last night’s record-setting live stream peaked at 3.1 million concurrent streams.
NBC Sports Digital’s live stream of Super Bowl LII, powered by Playmaker Media, ranks as its most streamed single game ever. Fans consumed 633.7 million live streaming minutes of Super Bowl Sunday coverage across 6.1 million unique devices, up 185% and 112%, respectively, from NBC’s last Super Bowl live stream in February 2015. With 592.1 million minutes, (excluding the post-game NBC Sports stream of “This is Us”), this is also the largest total minutes on record for a Super Bowl. The in-game average minute audience of 2.02 million is up 152% from NBC’s last Super Bowl live stream in February 2015 (800,000 AMA).
“We are excited by the record-breaking consumption as well as the quality of the streams we delivered to football fans,” said Rick Cordella, EVP and General Manager, Digital Media, NBC Sports Group. “We believe this is the largest domestic streaming sports event in history.”
Beginning this Wednesday night at 11 p.m. ET, NBC Olympics will live stream 1,800 hours of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games from PyeongChang, South Korea, a record for a Winter Olympics. PyeongChang will be the first Winter Games to offer live streaming of the NBC broadcast network, including primetime and primetime-plus programming.
HALFTIME SHOW FEATURING JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE: The Pepsi Super Bowl LII Halftime Show featuring Justin Timberlake, during the 8:15-8:30 p.m. ET quarter hour, was watched by an average of 106.6 million viewers.
“THIS IS US” AND “TONIGHT SHOW” DELIVER DOMINANT NUMBERS: NBC’s post-Super Bowl telecast of “This is Us” scored as the network’s most-watched scripted show in more than 13 years, since “ER” on the night of the “Friends” finale. It also ranked as the most-watched drama on any network in 10 years, since the 2008 post-Super Bowl episode of “House.”
With an average 27.0 million viewers, it’s the most-watched post-Super Bowl telecast in six years, since “The Voice” in 2012.
“This Is Us” surged +9.4 million persons or +53% above last year’s post-Super Bowl drama telecast in total viewers (27.0 million vs. 17.6 million Fox’s premiere of “24: Legacy”) and +52% in adults 18-49 (with a 9.3 rating vs. a 6.1).
And at 12:24 a.m. ET, a special post-Super Bowl edition of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” delivered 8.4 million viewers, a gain of +5.8 million persons versus the show’s season average, making this Fallon’s fourth most watched “Tonight Show” ever.
UNIVERSO SUPER BOWL VIEWERSHIP UP 48% FROM 2015: Universo, the fastest growing Hispanic entertainment cable network, averaged 543,000 viewers for Super Bowl LII – marking a 48% increase from the network’s prior Super Bowl telecast (368,000 viewers for Super Bowl XLIX in Feb. 2015). In addition, Super Bowl LII is Universo’s most-viewed program outside of soccer in the channel’s history.
BOSTON, PHILADELPHIA & TWIN CITIES LOCAL RATINGS NOTES:
- The Eagles’ 56.2/81 rating in Philadelphia ranks as the market’s best for a Super Bowl.
- The 55.9/81 in Boston ranks fourth among 10 Patriots’ Super Bowl appearances.
- Hosted by U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the local rating for Super Bowl LII in the Twin Cities was a 54.9/82 – besting by 14% the 48.0/70 rating for the area’s prior Super Bowl (Super Bowl XXVI in January 1992).
TOP 10 METERED MARKETS FOR SUPER BOWL LII:
- Buffalo, 56.4/78
- Philadelphia, 56.2/81
- Boston, 55.9/81
- Minneapolis-St. Paul, 54.9/82
- Pittsburgh, 54.9/73
- Norfolk, 53.9/73
- New Orleans, 53.0/72
- Providence, 52.5/77
- Milwaukee, 52.3/73
- Seattle, 52.2/79
- Kansas City, 52.2/73
--SUPER BOWL LII--