Super Bowl LVIII Smashes All-Time TV Ratings Record

Sunday’s Super Bowl LVIII between the Chiefs and 49ers drew an average of 123.4 million viewers, Variety reported the news based on numbers from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics. That’s the largest group of people to watch the same broadcast in the history of television. The inflated numbers are likely due in part to the Taylor Swift (and Travis Kelce) effect. 

This year’s Super Bowl surpassed 2023’s game, which was previously recorded as the most-watched telecast of all time. Last year’s showdown between the Chiefs and the Eagles netted 115.1 million viewers. This year marked a seven percent increase in viewership.

CBS alone boasted 112 million of those viewers, which on its own is the largest audience to tune into one network. Streamer Paramount+ also reported record-shattering viewership on Sunday, though they didn’t release precise numbers. The rest of the viewing numbers were divided amongst CBS Sports, Nickelodeon, Univision, and NFL digital properties like NFL+.

According to Nielsen, 123.4 million viewers were tuned in at a given time during Sunday’s game. However, the number of people who dropped in for any portion of the match was much higher, at 202.4 million.

Some fans were no doubt tuning in to see Swift, who has been dating Chiefs tight end Kelce since last year. Numerator found through a poll that 20 percent of Super Bowl viewers wanted the Chiefs to win because of the team’s Swift ties. Swift also brought several famous friends, including Blake Lively and Ice Spice, to the game with her.

Other extenuating circumstances getting viewers to tune in include Usher’s much-hyped halftime show, which featured marquee guests like Alicia Keyes, H.E.R., and Ludacris, amongst others.

As usual, Super Bowl commercials also convinced a fair number of viewers to tune in. Big-budget spots starring the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito; Beyoncé; Jason Kelce; as well as Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Tom Brady, and Matt Damon (for Dunkin’) no doubt convinced more people to turn on the tube.