The Super Bowl took place on Sunday, and it was watched by a record number of television viewers. According to Julia Stumbaugh of Bleacher Report, the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs was seen by 126 millon people on FOX. The previous television record was last year’s Super Bowl between the Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. A total of $123,714,000 viewers saw that particular game on CBS.
Why was Super Bowl LIX popular?
The game was not just popular for who was playing on the field, but who else were in attendance. There is no doubt there was the Taylor Swift effect, as the American singing sensation is currently dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. However, you also had American President Donald Trump appear, Serena Williams and Samuel L. Jackson perform in the Halftime Show, American actress Anne Hathaway showing great support for the Eagles, and Argentinian soccer sensation Lionel Messi attend with his former FC Barcelona teammates.
It also seemed to help FOX that Tom Brady, the greatest football player of all-time, was in the broadcast booth for a Super Bowl for the first time. He was in the booth alongside play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt.
Super Bowl has historically dominated the ratings
The top 11 shows in television history have been the Super Bowl. All the Super Bowls have come since 2010. The top rated program that was not the Super Bowl, was the final episode of M*A*S*H, which was shown on CBS by 105,970,000 on February 28, 1983.
Pure Eagles Domination
There is no doubt that the viewership would have increased if the game was tighter. This game was an absolute blowout by halftime as the Eagles had a 24-0 lead. The Chiefs simply made too many mistakes to keep the game competitive. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was named the most valuable player.
