Super Bowl LVI, which featured the Los Angeles Rams beating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20, was watched by more than 112 million people.
Up eight per cent on last year’s ratings, the matchup between the Rams and Bengals also became the most-watched Super Bowl in five years, when the New England Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime.
Commenting on the viewing figures, chairman of NBCUniversal television and streaming Mark Lazarus said in a statement: “The Super Bowl once again delivered a massive audience, which included NBC and the unmatched power of broadcast television as well as first-ever presentations on Peacock and Telemundo, and led into our most-watched Olympics coverage in four years.”
“We’re gratified that our strategy of combining the two most powerful events in the world – the Super Bowl and the Olympics – on ‘Super Gold Sunday’ has paid off in such a big way,” added NBC Sports chairman Pete Bevacqua. “We look forward to continuing this strategy into the future.”
Unlike last year’s Super Bowl which saw the Kansas City Chiefs roundly defeated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the encounter between the Rams and Bengals was tightly contested throughout.
The event also saw a halftime show starring Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J Blige with a special appearance from 50 Cent.
The hip-hop legends performed an ensemble of hits including “Still DRE”, “Family Affair” and “Lose Yourself” and was received positively by the audience in the stadium and the millions watching at home.