Super Bowl LIV Ratings: Slight Uptick from Last Year

Fox Sports can rejoice today over the news that its telecast of Super Bowl LIV saw ratings growth from last year’s game that had aired on CBS and ESPN Deportes. It’s the first time in four years the Super Bowl saw a viewership increase from the previous year.

Super Bowl LIV — in which the Kansas City Chiefs emerged victorious over the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 31-20 — drew a combined 102 million viewers across the Fox network, Fox Deportes and streaming platforms. This marks a 1.4 percent increase from Super Bowl LIII (Patriots-Rams, 100.7 million).

The biggest game of the year lived up to the hype, and viewers around the country took notice 👀

Super Bowl LIV on FOX is the 10th most-watched Super Bowl in history.#SBLIV pic.twitter.com/QsfFyyMGjh

— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) February 3, 2020

The Fox network alone averaged 99.9 million viewers with a 41.6 household rating and a 69 share, also a 1.4 percent increase from last year’s CBS-only audience (98.5 million, 41.1 HH/68 share). The game peaked at 103.5 million viewers during the 9:45-10:00 p.m. quarter hour. (Source: Gil Brandt)

In Kansas City, the game delivered a 55.7 rating and 89 share, peaking at 62.6/97 in the final quarter-hour (meaning 97 percent of homes watching TV were tuned into the Chiefs’ victory). The rest of the top ten markets were: Milwaukee (52.8), Nashville (52.5), Denver (52.0), Boston (50.9), Minneapolis (50.9), Philadelphia (50.7), Washington DC (50.5), Cleveland (50.4), and Providence (50.4). The Bay Area market, including San Francisco (home of the 49ers), Oakland and San Jose, did not crack the top ten. (Source: Michael Mulvihill)

The audience at kickoff of the Super Bowl was 84.3 million, up 3 percent over last year. It should be noted that Sunday’s game kicked off 9 minutes later than last year. (Source: Michael Mulvihill)

For the ninth consecutive year, the halftime show outdrew the game itself. The joint performance of Shakira and Jennifer Lopez posted 103.2 million viewers from 8:15-8:30 p.m. ET. (Source: Gil Brandt)

26.3 percent of our site’s visitors correctly guessed the range of 98.5-103.4 million for Super Bowl viewership in homes, according to the weeklong survey posted here.