Fox Sports reported Monday that 126 million viewers tuned in to this year's Super Bowl, a new record. The Eagles soundly defeated the Chiefs in the game, 40-22.
The 126 million figure represents the "projected average audience for Super Bowl LIX across Fox, Fox Deportes, Tubi, Telemundo, and NFL digital properties," according to the report.
© Benjamin Chambers/De | 2023 Feb 17Calculating viewership can be challenging in the era of Tubi, Hulu, Roku, Brbl and whatnot. (Yes, one of those is made up.) NFL.com provided some additional info regarding the methodology behind the 126 million reported by Fox:
"Fox's projections on Monday included Nielsen's early numbers and streaming data from Tubi and the NFL . . . According to Fox, the audience peaked at 135.7 million in the second quarter. The early data projects 14.5 million watched on streaming platforms, including 13.6 million on Tubi, where the game was available for free.
"Some of the increase can be attributed to a change in the way viewers are counted. This is the first year Nielsen is measuring out-of-home viewers for all states but Hawaii and Alaska. It was previously the top 44 media markets, which covered 65% of the country.
"The ratings also include Nielsen data from smart TVs along with cable and satellite set-top boxes."
Alternate calculations are likely coming soon. Fox itself is expected to deliver "updated and more complete numbers" on Tuesday, according to the NFL.com report. MVPindex.com claims that the organization can "pinpoint minute-to-minute data with both broadcast viewership and social media . . . because [its] broadcast data is powered by a viewership panel of 3,000,000 homes, more than 66x [its] closest competitor." NORC at the University of Chicago conducts a nationwide survey to independently determine a viewership figure.
Fox's early numbers, however, indicate that efforts to boycott the game were largely unsuccessful. Such efforts were undertaken for a variety of different causes. The two teams playing in the game, claims that the game is rigged in some manner, the presence of President Trump, and claims that Taylor Swift ruined the NFL were among the motivations spotted in a quick search of one social media platform.
Tonight millions of Patriots will be BOYCOTTING the SuperBowl and reason is simple
Taylor Swift has RUINED the NFL and we are FED UP!
Please give us back our sports pic.twitter.com/KwvAMRL0qh
The Super Bowl audience reached its peak at 135.7 million viewers between 8:00 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. Eastern time, according to Fox. That timing corresponds to the second quarter of the game, when the Eagles expanded their lead from 7-0 to 24-0.
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