Super Bowl LVIII becomes most-watched telecast ever with more than 200 million viewers
A record number of eyeballs tuned in to see the Kansas City Chiefs’ 25-22 victory over San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas Sunday night.
CBS announced Tuesday that the broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII was the most-watched Super Bowl of all-time and most-watched telecast in history, attracting 123.4 million average viewers across platforms, including the CBS Television Network, Paramount+, Nickelodeon, Univision, and CBS Sports, Univision and NFL digital properties, including NFL+.
“More than 200 million viewers (202.4) watched all or part of Super Bowl LVIII across networks, the highest unduplicated total audience in history and up +10% vs. last year’s Super Bowl (184 million),” the press release stated.
It surpasses last year’s Super Bowl in terms of average viewership, which had 115.1 million viewers, as the most-watched ever. Super Bowls now make up nine of the 10 most-watched broadcast programs in history, the Apollo 11 moon landing serving as the outlier. That event tops the list at 150 million viewers.
It’s hardly surprising to see a viewership record broken given the storylines heading into the game. For starters, Taylor Swift. The boyfriend of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce arrived in Las Vegas Saturday, fresh off performing four nights inside the Toyko Dome in Japan as part of The Eras Tour. Though she was only shown on the broadcast for 54 seconds (less than 1% of the broadcast), those 54 seconds were crucial in keeping Swifties from around the country invested and tuned into the game.
Chiefs solidify dynasty by winning Super Bowl No. 3
The game itself wasn’t too shabby on story, as the Chiefs were attempting to win their second consecutive Super Bowl and third in the last five seasons. Kansas City did just that, stopping San Francisco from winning its first Super Bowl since 1995.
The Chiefs are officially a dynasty, akin to the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 70s, the 49ers of the 80s, the Dallas Cowboys of the 90s and the New England Patriots of the 2000s and 2010s.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes made it clear after the game that he and the Chiefs aren’t done winning championships.
“I mean, I’m gonna celebrate tonight. I’m gonna celebrate at the parade,” Mahomes said. “And then I’m gonna do whatever I can to be back in this game next year and try to go for that three-peat. I think Tom [Brady] said it best – once you win that championship and you have those parades and you get those rings, you’re not the champion anymore. You have to come back with that same mentality, and I learned from guys like that that have been the greatest of all time at the top of the level.
“[We’re] gonna work our way to get back to this game next year.”