SAN JOSE, CALIF.—The Super Bowl continues to be too big to fail, as CBS has announced that its broadcast of Super Bowl 50 averaged 111.9 million viewers on Sunday, Feb. 7, according to Nielsen Fast National ratings. The numbers were good enough to be the third-most-watched program in TV history, but shy of last year’s Super Bowl, which 114.4 million viewers, which remains the most-watched TV program in history.
The broadcast peaked at 115.5 million viewers from 8:30-9 p.m. EST.
One viewership category that did see recording setting numbers was in streaming. The live stream of the game drew 3.96 million unique views across laptops, desktops, tablets, connected TVs and mobile devices.
CBS Sports also announced that Super Bowl 50 did set the record for viewers who watched all-or-part of the broadcast, with 167 million viewers according to Nielsen's Fast Total Audience estimates. The previous record was for Super Bowl XLVII between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, which earned 164.1 million viewers.
Sunday’s Super Bowl 50 saw Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos emerge victorious against Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers in a defensive heavy game. The record-setting Super Bowl XLIX saw Tom Brady’s New England Patriots win in dramatic fashion against the Seattle Seahawks.
