Super Bowl XLIX Overnight Up 4% From Last Year & Up 3% from Prior Record

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Feb. 2, 2015 – Super Bowl XLIX, which featured the New England Patriots' thrilling 28-24 victory over the defending champion Seattle Seahawks in one of the greatest Super Bowls ever, delivered the highest Super Bowl metered market rating in history with a 49.7/72 overnight rating/share on NBC, according to data released today by The Nielsen Company.

  • The 49.7/72 is four percent higher than last year's game (47.6/70 for Super Bowl XLVIII on FOX, in which the Seahawks defeated the Broncos 43-8) and is three percent higher than the prior record (48.1/71 for Super Bowl XLVII on CBS; Ravens 34, 49ers 31).

TOP 5 SUPER BOWL OVERNIGHTS OF ALL TIME

  1. 49.7/72 – Super Bowl XLIX; Patriots 28-Seahawks 24; NBC (Feb. 2015)
  2. 48.1/71 – Super Bowl XLVII; Ravens 34-49ers 31; CBS (Feb. 2013)

T3. 47.9/71 – Super Bowl XLV; Packers 31-Steelers 25; FOX (Feb. 2011)

T3. 47.9/68 – Super Bowl XXI; Giants 39-Broncos 20; CBS (Jan. 1987)

  1. 47.8/71 – Super Bowl XLVI; Giants 21-Patriots 17; NBC (Feb. 2012)

RATING GROWS THROUGHOUT THE GAME: The game rating topped a 50 in each half hour from 8 p.m. ET forward and peaked at a 53.5/74 from 9:45-10 p.m. ET as the Patriots became the first team to win the Super Bowl after trailing by 10 points in the fourth quarter.

HALF HOURS (Times ET):

6:30-7 -- 44.6/68

7-7:30 -- 48.0/72

7:30-8 -- 49.7/73

8-8:30 -- 50.8/73

8:30-9 -- 50.3/71

9-9:30 -- 50.3/70

9:30-10 -- 52.4/72

10-10:15 -- 52.9/73

HALFTIME SHOW UP FROM LAST YEAR: The halftime performance by Katy Perry (8-8:30 p.m. ET) delivered a 50.8/73 overnight, five percent ahead of last year's 8-8:30 time period featuring Bruno Mars (48.6/71). (Note: Historical halftime ratings/viewership information will be available with fast nationals later today.)

BOSTON & HOST MARKET PHOENIX SET LOCAL MARKET RECORDS: The rating in Boston was the best ever for a Super Bowl in the market (61.0/85), topping the previous high of 56.7/81 for the N.Y. Giants-Patriots Super Bowl XLVI on NBC.

  • The host market of Phoenix registered a 55.6/82 rating, the highest for a Super Bowl in the market, topping the prior Phoenix mark of 51.1 for Packers-Steelers in Super Bowl XLV in Feb. 2011.

TOP 10 METERED MARKETS FOR SUPER BOWL XLIX:

  1. Boston, 61.0/85
  2. New Orleans, 55.7/72
  3. Phoenix, 55.6/82

T4. Detroit, 55.0/71

T4. Norfolk, 55.0/76

  1. Chicago, 54.9/72
  2. Kansas City, 54.5/75

T8. Denver, 53.7/79

T8. Indianapolis, 53.7/74

  1. Buffalo, 53.6/75

*Seattle tied for 17th with a 52.1/89

When Fast National data is available from Nielsen this afternoon, the viewership could approach last year's 112.2 million that watched Super Bowl XLVIII, the most-watched Super Bowl ever, and the largest television audience in U.S. history.

*Note, the "fast affiliate" data that is available later this morning does NOT reflect live audience for the Super Bowl across the country.

*Overnight ratings measure the top 56 U.S. metered markets.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.