Fox Says Super Bowl Was Most-Watched Program in U.S. Television History G
Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers celebrates throwing a touchdown pass to Greg Jennings.
Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers celebrates throwing a touchdown pass to Greg Jennings. Photographer: Jamie Squire/Getty Images
The Green Bay Packers’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in last night’s Super Bowl averaged 111 million viewers, the biggest audience in U.S. television history.
The Packers’ 31-25 victory in Arlington, Texas, drew record viewership to the Super Bowl for the fourth straight year, News Corp.’s Fox said today in a statement. Last year’s game, carried on CBS Corp.’s network, averaged 106.5 million viewers.
After the game, a record 100.6 million viewers remained to watch Fox’s prime-time lineup including an episode of “Glee,” Los Angeles-based Fox said. Advertisers that buy Super Bowl ads expect an audience equal to the previous year’s game, said Laura Martin, an analyst at Needham & Co., in an interview before the game. The average 30-second commercial during the game cost $3 million, according to researcher Kantar Media.
“There’s a lot of upside for advertisers, even with commercials costing $3 million,” said Brad Adgate, who oversees research at Horizon Media Inc., an advertising company in New York. “There’s nothing else like it on television.”
Last year’s Super Bowl, where the New Orleans Saints’ beat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Miami, was the first television broadcast to surpass the 1983 season finale of “M*A*S*H,” which was watched by 106 million viewers, according to Nielsen Co. data.
Revenue Record
Lou D’Ermilio, a spokesman for Fox Sports, said before the game that yesterday would mark the single highest revenue- generating day in the network’s history. This year’s Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium was forecast to attract the biggest audience ever after the NFL set regular-season and post-season TV records.
This was the sixth Super Bowl broadcast by Fox, which last televised the NFL’s championship game three years ago, when the Giants beat the New England Patriots 17-14. That game drew 97.5 million viewers, Fox said.
No other major sporting event has set a record in four straight years, Fox said. This year’s game also marks the sixth consecutive year that Super Bowl viewership has climbed, the network said. Since 2005, the Super Bowl’s audience has gained by about 29 percent.
Comcast Corp.’s NBC network will broadcast next year’s Super Bowl.
To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Buteau in Atlanta at mbuteau@bloomberg.net; or Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.netTo contact the reporter on this story:
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