113 Million Viewers Ranks As The Third Most-Watched Telecast Historically

Who says the linear broadcast platform is becoming extinct?

The traditional broadcast networks, of course, don’t have the luxury to house a massive event like The Super Bowl on a regular basis. But, if the Kansas City Chiefs’ 38 to 35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday is any indication, never underestimate the still value of a linear platform. The live telecast on the Fox network on February 12 averaged 113 million viewers across all platforms, according to Nielsen, which was a six year high for The Super Bowl and a one percent improvement over Super Bowl LVI in 2022.

Historically, this was the second most-watched non-overtime Super Bowl, the second most-watched program in Fox Sports history, and the third biggest television program of all time. The top two telecasts remain two Super Bowls: the Patriots-Seahawks game in 2015 (114.4 million) and the Patriots-Falcons match-up in 2017 (113.7 million).

The 113 million breakdown falls at approximately 106 million viewers who watched on Fox and a Spanish-language feed on Fox Deportes, with the remainder on the Fox and NFL digital platforms. A more detailed audience tally of the various platforms is expected tomorrow.

The Rihanna halftime show, meanwhile, drew an average of 118.7 million total viewers, which is now the second most-watched Super Bowl halftime show since Katy Perry performed in 2015.

Following The Super Bowl on Fox, the season two premiere of the Gordon Ramsay cooking competition series Next Level Chef delivered 15.5 million viewers. Comparably, that is now the most-watched cooking-themed telecast historically across broadcast and cable.

Next Level Chef debuts in its regularly scheduled Thursday 8 p.m. ET hour on Fox on February 16 into the new Joel McHale sitcom Animal Control. Will the Super Bowl lead-in exposure give it a boost? Stay tuned.