How many people watch the Super Bowl? Big Game's historic numbers explored

The NFL is the most watched sport in the United States. As the Super Bowl is the most significant game of the league season, it's, by default, the biggest sporting event in the nation. Its audience numbers outweigh those of any other scheduled athletic event.

Nothing comes close to drawing as many spectators as the Super Bowl each year. Football devotees and non-fans alike watch the Big Game. Many throw parties and invite their friends over to watch the championship game.

Only three Super Bowls in the last 25 years have had viewership go below 100 million in the United States: the 2019 New England Patriots vs. Los Angeles Rams game, the 2021 Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Kansas City Chiefs game, and the 2022 Los Angeles Rams vs. Cincinnati Bengals game.

Since 2008, the Super Bowl has attracted more than 100 million viewers annually when viewership over every medium is taken into account.

It's impossible to overstate the Super Bowl's appeal and cultural influence. With over 115 million viewers, last year's Big Game was the most-watched such event ever and the second most-watched TV program in history, behind only the 1969 Apollo moon landing, which attracted an estimated 150 million in the US.

According to the NFL, more than 56 million people watched the Super Bowl last year from outside the United States. That was an increase of 7% from the numbers n 2022.

Statistics from Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Germany, Australia, Brazil and France were used to compute the global viewership in addition to the accessible data from over 130 other nations.

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Super Bowl viewership numbers over the last five years

Below is the list of the viewership numbers of the last five Super Bowl broadcasts in the United States, according to the Nielsen ratings:

#1 Super Bowl LVII | February 12, 2023 | FOX | 115.1 million viewers

Kansas City Chiefs 38-35 Philadelphia Eagles

#2 Super Bowl LVI | February 13, 2022 | NBC | 112.3 million viewers

Los Angeles Rams 23-20 Cincinnati Bengals

#3 Super Bowl LV | February 7, 2021 | CBS | 91.6 million viewers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-9 Kansas City Chiefs

#4 Super Bowl LIV | February 2, 2020 | FOX | 100.4 million viewers

Kansas City Chiefs 31-20 San Francisco 49ers

#5 Super Bowl LIII | February 3, 2019 | CBS | 98.2 million viewers

New England Patriots 13-3 Los Angeles Rams