I wonder how many of those viewers were actually watching the game on a CTV station rather than a simsubbed CBS affilliate. You will watch the Canadian ads AND you will like them. 

It wasn't just the biggest Super Bowl rating ever. it was the most watched TV event of all time, with an estimated 123 million viewers tuning in down south, which Nielsen confirms is the biggest audience ever recorded. (As SOWNY member paterson1 has already noted.)

But it's a combined contribution. The ratings include 120 million who watched on CBS, others who viewed it on Paramount+ streaming, while also taking into account the Nickelodeon coverage and those who chose Spanish language network Univision. 

That, along with "other digital platforms pushed the total to 123.4 million. No other broadcast in American TV history — at least as measured by Nielsen — has drawn more people."

It's on par with a far different historical moment - the moon landing in 1969, which garnered between 125-150 million viewers across three U.S. networks. It proves that broadcast TV can still attract eyeballs, if only the proper programming is there (not to mention weeks of hype about Taylor Swift, who was on screen during the game for only 54 seconds in total.)

Speaking of Nickelodeon, its version of the game is said by fans who watched it there (with SpongeBob SquarePants as one of the guest commentators) to have been even better than the CBS version. Check out the highlights here to see if you agree or are just curious to get a look at what you missed. 

Here Are 21 Of The Best Moments To Come Out Of Nickelodeon's Unhinged Super Bowl Broadcast

RadioActive wrote:

It's on par with a far different historical moment - the moon landing in 1969, which garnered between 125-150 million viewers across three U.S. networks. It proves that broadcast TV can still attract eyeballs, if only the proper programming is there (not to mention weeks of hype about Taylor Swift, who was on screen during the game for only 54 seconds in total.)

But wouldn't the eyeballs from 1969 be a larger percentage of overall eyeballs during that time?  And in 1969, there was only one way to get eyeballs - television (barring movie theatres).  In 2024, as per the above posts, there are many, many different eyeball gatherers. 

As also noted, the huge rating includes people watching on streaming services (Paramount+), cable (Nickelodeon) alternate networks (Spanish language Univision) as well as CBS. So while those weren't available when Neil Armstrong put on his original halftime show, I suppose it's fair to say the moon landing did a little better, given that there were fewer sets and fewer networks to watch it on. Plus, on that occasion, the whole world really was watching. 

But that Super Bowl number is eye popping, especially in these days when there are so many other video sources, from TV to DVDs to the Internet to cell phones, all vying for viewer attention. Even for the biggest sporting event in North America, it's a pretty impressive feat. 

That list is very interesting.  I'm surprised there are so many Super Bowls but I'm also surprised that Michael Jackson's Halftime Show numbers were extricated from the overall numbers for that specific game.  Would the Super Bowl numbers not automatically include the Halftime Show?  And if not, are the ratings calculated as an average over the fluctuating numbers during the entire viewing period?  Sorry for the weird questions, but I find this fascinating. 

mace wrote:

I wonder how many of those viewers were actually watching the game on a CTV station rather than a simsubbed CBS affilliate. You will watch the Canadian ads AND you will like them. 

The rule of thumb that either William Houston of the Globe or Chris Zelkovich of the Star (I can't remember which) used to use was to assume a roughly even split between the channels carrying the game.  I don't know if there was any scientific method behind that or not.
 

Bell Fibe has a trending feature that shows the five most watched shows at any given time on their system.  The US OTA channels almost never come up on a simsubed or unsimsubed program.    I checked a few times during the Super Bowl including half time show and it was CTV Kitch/CTV Tor/TSN/ on the top three during the game.  CNN and CP24 are usually in the top five as well. 

On this feature even if the show is simsubed it would show the US station if people were watching on the US affiliate (Detroit) in our region. I have seen something like the Academy Awards come up with the Canadian network in first and the Detroit affiliate coming up in 4th or 5th for the broadcast. 

When NBC had NHL hockey and the Canadian and US networks did their own coverage occasionally NBC would be in the top 5 along with Hockey Night in Canada.for the same game.