Super Bowl LVIII Is the Modern Era’s Most-Watched Telecast Ever

And they said broadcast was dead. According to Nielsen, Super Bowl LVIII averaged approximately 123.4 million viewers, making it the most watched U.S. television broadcast since since the moon landing. Yes, that’s right: the Kansas City Chiefs come-from-behind victory over the San Francisco 49ers was the biggest scheduled television event of every millennial and Zoomer’s lifetime. Go team go!

The ratings, gathered across multiple platforms, primarily came from CBS, the network that aired the big game, as well as its streaming arm Paramount+. Additional Viacom stations, including Nickelodeon, Univision, CBS Sports, and Univision, as well as NFL digital properties like NFL+, also factored into the 123.4 million number. In comparison, the moon landing scored approximately 150 million viewers when it aired on July 20, 1969, based on rough Nielsen ratings estimates. 

Super Bowl LVIII was a major event, to be sure. The Chiefs triumphed over the 49ers due to a quick toss from quarterback Patrick Mahomes to wide receiver Mecole Hardman in the final seconds of overtime. A rollerskating, Atlanta-repping Usher led a rousing, nostalgia-inducing halftime show featuring Alicia Keys, Lil Jon, Ludacris, H.E.R., and Jermaine Dupri. The highly anticipated Wicked movie dropped its first official teaser trailer, and Beyoncé announced via a Verizon commercial that she is releasing a new country album, Renaissance Act II, on March 29, and released two new songs to whet the public’s appetite. And, of course, four-time Grammy AOTY recipient Taylor Swift cheered on her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, to a stunning victory, cementing their status as homecoming king and queen of music, football, and the history of American television.

When you think about all that has transpired on television event in the almost 55 years since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin went to the moon, it’s a pretty impressive statistic. Super Bowl LVII earned more American eyeballs than every televised Olympic games, every televised award show (which given recent ratings decline may not be a big surprise), and every royal wedding, among other major events. As for major news events, like elections, and national tragedies, like 9/11, the proliferation of cable networks has resulted in lower Nielsen ratings for individual channels.

At the end of the day, the Super Bowl’s massive success might be just an American thing. Every year, the Super Bowl is far and away the most watched U.S. television broadcast: nine out of ten of the most watched television broadcasts in the U.S.A. are Super Bowls, with seven of them occurring in the last decade, and the Chiefs previous Super Bowl win over the Eagles in 2022 clocking in at third place. Outside the U.S., there are plenty of other events that score more eyeballs in their native countries—particularly India and China, which have the potential to score higher ratings than any U.S. broadcast given their populations. In India, the 2011 Cricket World Cup drew 340 million viewers on Star Sports Network, and every year, China Central Television’s broadcast of the yearly Spring Festival earns anywhere between 700 million to 1.17 billion viewers. But leave it to Miss Americana and the Football Prince to dominate ratings all over the world.