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
| Winter Olympics and news provide a boost to TV viewing during a traditionally slower TV month | Date | Réseau | 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 | NBA Finals capture top five broadcast telecasts; CNN Presidential Debate tops cable. | 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 | NBA Finals capture top five broadcast telecasts; CNN Presidential Debate tops cable. | 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 | NBA Finals capture top five broadcast telecasts; CNN Presidential Debate tops cable. | 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 | NBA Finals capture top five broadcast telecasts; CNN Presidential Debate tops cable. | 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 | NBA Finals capture top five broadcast telecasts; CNN Presidential Debate tops cable. | 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 | NBA Finals capture top five broadcast telecasts; CNN Presidential Debate tops cable. | 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 | NBA Finals capture top five broadcast telecasts; CNN Presidential Debate tops cable. | 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 |
| NNTV 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. |
