The Kansas City Chiefs and their fans weren’t the only winners at Super Bowl LVIII. CBS Sports got themselves a pretty favorable result as well.
On Monday, CBS Sports’ PR account on X released the viewership numbers from the Chiefs’ 25-22 win over the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev. The final tally classified the 58th Super Bowl as the most-viewed telecast in history with 123.4 million viewers on average.
Over 200 million unique viewers reportedly watched at least part of Super Bowl 58. CBS accounted for about 60% of total viewership with an audience of 120 million. Both figures set records for cumulative and single-network viewership, respectively. The total viewership number was also reportedly 10% higher than last year’s Super Bowl between the Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
CBS Sports' presentation of Super Bowl LVIII is the most-watched telecast in history with a total audience delivery of 123.4 million average viewers across platforms.
Link to Release: https://t.co/DHc9XPBwSn pic.twitter.com/GR3w2hbBwn
— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) February 13, 2024
It certainly helped that the league’s biggest star, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, was playing in the contest against a big-market team like the 49ers. The contest also stayed close throughout and even went into overtime, which increased the game’s stakes as well as its total duration for more fans to tune in.
There’s also a legitimate case that the added interest was in part due to Taylor Swift’s appearance while supporting her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Usher taking his shirt off during the Super Bowl halftime show might have bumped up the numbers a bit as well.
While the Super Bowl obliterates all other sporting events in the U.S. market, its numbers still pale in comparison to the global viewership numbers from soccer events from the quadrennial FIFA World Cup and the annual UEFA Champions League Final.
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