SB49 Most-Watched Program Ever

Super Bowl XLIX on NBC, featuring the New England Patriots’ history-making comeback from 10 points behind in the fourth quarter to defeat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24, is the most-watched television program in U.S. history and the highest-rated Super Bowl in 30 seasons, according to fast national data released today by The Nielsen Company.

The game was seen by a record 114.4 million viewers (6:31-10:10 p.m. ET), topping by 2.2 million viewers last year’s Super Bowl XLVIII on FOX and is the biggest audience to watch a television program in U.S. history.

“(Sunday) night’s Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl ranks among the most exciting sporting events in U.S. history,” said Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBC Sports Group. “Super Bowl XLIX delivered for all of our partners, proving once again that the Super Bowl is the most dominant and consistent property on television.”

MOST-WATCHED PROGRAMS IN U.S. TELEVISION HISTORY

1. 114.4 Million – Super Bowl XLIX, NBC (Last Night’s Game)

2. 112.2 Million – Super Bowl XLVIII, FOX (Feb. 2014)

3. 111.3 Million – Super Bowl XLVI, NBC (Feb. 2012)

4. 111.0 Million – Super Bowl XLV, FOX (Feb. 2011)

5. 108.7 Million – Super Bowl XLVII, CBS (Feb. 2013)

6. 106.5 Million – Super Bowl XLIV, CBS (Feb. 2010)

7. 106.0 Million – M.A.S.H. Finale, CBS (Feb. 1983)

8. 98.7 Million – Super Bowl XLIII, NBC (Feb. 2009)

The game earned a 47.5 rating and a 71 share, a gain of two percent from last year’s 46.7/69 for Super Bowl XLVIII and is the highest-rated Super Bowl since 1986 (Bears-Patriots, Super Bowl XX, 48.3/70). The 47.5 rating is the 4th highest in Super Bowl history and ranks as 9th highest rated program in television history.

Katy Perry

NBC Sports Live Extra’s live stream of Super Bowl XLIX to desktops and tablets delivered record traffic and a high-quality experience for consumers. The live stream of the game set Super Bowl records for average viewers per minute (800,000), concurrent users (1.3 million) and total minutes (213 million), according to Adobe Analytics.

In addition to the record traffic, NBC Sports Live Extra delivered a high-quality stream with a long engagement of 84.2 minute per viewer. According to Akamai, the live stream was the highest quality throughput for any Super Bowl.

 The halftime performance by Katy Perry during the 8-8:30 p.m. ET half hour, was seen by 118.5 million viewers, 3 million+ viewers more than last year’s halftime featuring Bruno Mars (115.3 million), and is the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show featuring entertainment ever (dating back to 1991).

The halftime show earned a 48.2/72 household rating, two percent higher than last year (47.2/70) and is the highest-rated halftime show featuring entertainment ever.