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Super Bowl LVIII, aired live on CBS this past Sunday, has etched its name in television history as the most-viewed program ever. With the Kansas City Chiefs triumphing over the San Francisco 49ers in a thrilling 25-22 overtime showdown, the broadcast drew an impressive average of 123.4 million viewers across various platforms, including CBS Television Network, Paramount+, Nickelodeon, Univision, and digital properties affiliated with CBS Sports, Univision, and the NFL.
This staggering viewership figure surpassed last year’s record of 115.1 million viewers, solidifying its status as the highest-watched Super Bowl to date. Moreover, a remarkable 202.4 million individuals caught at least a glimpse of the broadcast, marking a substantial 10% increase from the previous year’s unduplicated total audience of 184 million.
Of this massive audience, 120.0 million tuned in via CBS, establishing a new milestone for the largest single-network audience in history. Furthermore, Super Bowl LVIII shattered records as the most-streamed Super Bowl ever, with Paramount+ attracting a historic number of viewers.
Though final Nielsen data is yet to be released until Tuesday, the game itself provided ample fodder for discussion. Notably, it became only the second Super Bowl in history to extend into overtime. Patrick Mahomes’ stellar performance earned him his third Super Bowl MVP title, a feat shared only with football legends Tom Brady and Joe Montana. Adding to the spectacle, pop sensation Taylor Swift, romantically linked with Chiefs’ standout tight end Travis Kelce, graced the event, making her presence felt throughout the broadcast. Halftime entertainment, headlined by Usher and featuring luminaries like Alicia Keys and Ludacris, further elevated the excitement of the event. The second half and overtime period unfolded as one of the most gripping stretches in Super Bowl history.
The success of Super Bowl LVIII serves as the crowning achievement of a record-breaking NFL season for CBS Sports. The “NFL ON CBS” programming notched its highest regular-season viewership since the league’s return to the network in 1998, while CBS enjoyed its best NFL postseason viewership in over two decades, dating back to 1998.