According to preliminary results from Nielsen, the telecast of Super Bowl XLVIII on FOX drew an average audience of 111.5 million viewers, who tuned in to watch the first “cold weather” NFL Championship game. The game, in which the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos by a score of 43 to 8, was viewed in over 53 million homes and had a preliminary 46.4 U.S. household rating.
Additionally, Nielsen SocialGuide noted that 5.6 million people in the U.S. sent 25.3 million tweets over the course of the entire game.
Here is a look at historical viewership of the Super Bowl:
Historical Super Bowl Viewership
| Super Bowl | Date | Network | Household rating | Avg. no. of homes (000s) | Avg. no. of persons 2+ (000s) | Teams (winners in capitals) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XLVIII | Feb. 2, 2014 | FOX | 46.4 | 53,727 | 111,488 | SEATTLE vs. Denver |
| XLVII | Feb. 3, 2013 | CBS | 46.3 | 52,881 | 108,414 | BALTIMORE vs. San Francisco |
| XLVI | Feb. 5, 2012 | NBC | 47.1 | 53,910 | 111,346 | NEW YORK GIANTS vs. New England |
| XLV | Feb. 6 2011 | FOX | 46 | 53,282 | 111,041 | GREEN BAY vs. Pittsburgh. |
| XLIV | Feb. 7 2010 | CBS | 45 | 51,728 | 106,476 | NEW ORLEANS vs. Indianapolis |
| XLIII | Feb. 1 2009 | NBC | 42 | 48,139 | 98,732 | Arizona vs. PITTSBURGH |
| XLII | Feb. 3 2008 | FOX | 43.1 | 48,665 | 97,448 | NEW YORK GIANTS vs. New England |
| XLI | Feb. 4 2007 | CBS | 42.6 | 47,505 | 93,184 | Chicago vs. INDIANAOPOLIS |
| XL | Feb. 5 2006 | ABC | 41.6 | 45,867 | 90,745 | Seattle vs. PITTSBURGH |
| XXXIX | Feb. 6 2005 | FOX | 41.1 | 45,081 | 86,072 | Philadelphia vs. NEW ENGLAND |
| XXXVIII | Feb. 1 2004 | CBS | 41.4 | 44,908 | 89,795 | Carolina vs. NEW ENGLAND |
| XXXVII | Jan. 26 2003 | ABC | 40.7 | 43,433 | 88,637 | TAMPA BAY vs. Oakland |
| XXXVI | Feb. 3 2002 | FOX | 40.4 | 42,664 | 86,801 | St. Louis vs. NEW ENGLAND |
| XXXV | Jan. 28 2001 | CBS | 40.4 | 41,270 | 84,335 | NY Giants vs. BALTIMORE |
| XXXIV | Jan. 30 2000 | ABC | 43.3 | 43,618 | 88,465 | ST. LOUIS vs. Tennessee |
| XXXIII | Jan. 31 1999 | FOX | 40.2 | 39,992 | 83,720 | Atlanta vs. DENVER |
| XXXII | Jan. 25 1998 | NBC | 44.5 | 43,630 | 90,000 | GREEN BAY vs. Denver |
| XXXI | Jan. 26 1997 | FOX | 43.3 | 42,000 | 87,870 | GREEN BAY vs. New England |
| XXX | Jan. 28 1996 | NBC | 46 | 44,145 | 94,080 | DALLAS vs. Pittsburgh |
| XXIX | Jan. 29 1995 | ABC | 41.3 | 39,400 | 83,420 | SAN FRANCISCO vs. San Diego |
| XXVIII | Jan. 30 1994 | NBC | 45.5 | 42,860 | 90,000 | DALLAS vs. Buffalo |
| XXVII | Jan. 31 1993 | NBC | 45.1 | 41,990 | 90,990 | DALLAS vs. Buffalo |
| XXVI | Jan. 26 1992 | CBS | 40.3 | 37,120 | 79,590 | WASHINGTON vs. Buffalo |
| XXV | Jan. 27 1991 | ABC | 41.9 | 39,010 | 79,510 | NEW YORK GIANTS vs. Buffalo |
| XXIV | Jan. 28 1990 | CBS | 39 | 35,920 | 73,852 | SAN FRANCISCO vs. Denver |
| XXIII | Jan. 22 1989 | NBC | 43.5 | 39,320 | 81,590 | SAN FRANCISCO vs. Cincinnati |
| XXII | Jan. 31 1988 | ABC | 41.9 | 37,120 | 80,140 | WASHINGTON vs. Denver |
| XXI | Jan. 25 1987 | CBS | 45.8 | 40,030 | 87,190 | NEW YORK GIANTS vs. Denver |
| XX | Jan. 26 1986 | NBC | 48.3 | 41,490 | 92,570 | CHICAGO vs. New England |
| XIX | Jan. 20 1985 | ABC | 46.4 | 39,390 | 85,530 | SAN FRANCISCO vs. Miami |
| XVIII | Jan. 22 1984 | CBS | 46.4 | 38,880 | 77,620 | Washington vs. LA RAIDERS |
| XVII | Jan. 30 1983 | NBC | 48.6 | 40,480 | 81,770 | WASHINGTON vs. Miami |
| XVI | Jan. 24 1982 | CBS | 49.1 | 40,020 | 85,240 | SAN FRANCISCO vs. Cincinnati |
| XV | Jan. 25 1981 | NBC | 44.4 | 34,540 | 68,290 | Philadelphia vs. OAKLAND |
| XIV | Jan. 20 1980 | CBS | 46.3 | 35,330 | 76,240 | LA Rams vs. PITTSBURGH |
| XIII | Jan. 21 1979 | NBC | 47.1 | 35,090 | 74,740 | Dallas vs. PITTSBURGH |
| XII | Jan. 15 1978 | CBS | 47.2 | 34,410 | 78,940 | DALLAS vs. Denver |
| XI | Jan. 09 1977 | NBC | 44.4 | 31,610 | 62,050 | Minnesota vs. OAKLAND |
| X | Jan. 18 1976 | CBS | 42.3 | 29,440 | 57,710 | Dallas vs. PITTSBURGH |
| IX | Jan. 12 1975 | NBC | 42.4 | 29,040 | 56,050 | Minnesota vs. PITTSBURGH |
| VIII | Jan. 13 1974 | CBS | 41.6 | 27,540 | 51,700 | Minnesota vs. MIAMI |
| VII | Jan. 14 1973 | NBC | 42.7 | 27,670 | 53,320 | Washington vs. MIAMI |
| VI | Jan. 16 1972 | CBS | 44.2 | 27,450 | 56,640 | DALLAS vs. Miami |
| V | Jan. 17 1971 | NBC | 39.9 | 23,980 | 46,040 | Dallas vs. BALTIMORE |
| IV | Jan. 11 1970 | CBS | 39.4 | 23,050 | 44,270 | Minnesota vs. KANSAS CITY |
| III | Jan. 12 1969 | NBC | 36 | 20,520 | 41,660 | Baltimore vs. NY JETS |
| II | Jan. 14 1968 | CBS | 36.8 | 20,610 | 39,120 | GREEN BAY vs. Oakland |
| I | Jan. 15 1967 | CBS | 22.6 | 12,410 | 26,750 | GREEN BAY vs. Kansas City |
| I | Jan. 15 1967 | NBC | 18.5 | 10,160 | 24,430 | GREEN BAY vs. Kansas City |
| Source: Nielsen Notes: Super Bowl I (Jan. 15, 1967) aired on both CBS and NBC. Beginning Dec. 26, 2005, viewing estimates on this page include Live or Same Day viewing (defined as 3 a.m. to 3 a.m.) using timeshifting, such as DVR playback. |
