How many people watched the Super Bowl in previous years? Which was the most watched?

The Super Bowl has consistently been the most popular TV event in the United States. It has been watched by millions since it first aired in 1967, and viewership increased over the years to break the 100-million mark in 2010. Since then, the total audience of the game has stayed close to this milestone.

When Super Bowl I took place, CBS and NBC shared broadcasting rights to the game. CBS recorded an average of 26.75 million viewers, while NBC tallied 24.43 million. After that year, the network war was shelved and rights to air the game were awarded to only one station.

The number of viewers hit 100 million in 2010 during the game between New Orleans and Indianapolis, when the average audience was 106.48 million.

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Below 100 million

Since then, the audience size only fell below the 100 million mark three times: in the 2019 matchup of the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams, the 2021 contest between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs, and last year, when the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Super Bowl game that holds the record for being the most watched, thus making it the most viewed program in the history of U.S. TV, was the showdown between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks in 2015.

More than 114 million tuned in to witness the showdown between Tom Brady and Russell Wilson. This number rose to 118 million during the halftime show which featured Katy Perry.

Here is the complete list of Super Bowl games and the average number of viewers who watched the matches.

Super Bowl viewership