Super Bowl LII / NBCUniversal Logo
Update: In an updated report, NBC reveals that Super Bowl LII drew an average live+same-day audience of 103.4 million overall viewers (for the NBC television broadcast).
The number trails the 111.3 million viewer mark drawn by last year’s Super Bowl — and ranks as the game’s lowest audience figure since 2009.
It nonetheless beat all previous Super Bowls in the viewership column. It also ranks as the #10 US television broadcast of all time, trailing only the past eight Super Bowls and the series finale of “MASH.”
From a quarter-hour perspective, viewership peaked in the 10-10:15PM window (112.3 million).
Justin Timberlake’s halftime show, meanwhile, topped the game’s overall average. It drew 106.6 million viewers in the 8:15-8:30PM quarter hour.
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NBC has released preliminary ratings data for Super Bowl LII.
Citing metered market data, NBC says the show drew a 47.4 overnight household rating.
On the one hand, the number trails the 48.8 rating drawn by last year’s broadcast — and ranks as the game’s lowest overnight household rating since 2010.
On the other hand, the number is still massive. It is the ninth-best among all Super Bowls and will surely rank as the best number for a TV broadcast this year.
The ratings, predictably, peaked late in the very closely contested gain. The 10-10:15PM quarter hour drew a show-best 52.2 overnight rating and 74 share (52.2% of all households in the metered markets were watching; 74% of those watching TV at the time were watching the game).
Justin Timberlake’s halftime show, meanwhile, outperformed the show’s average with a 48.1 rating.
This, of course, has become a typical occurrence; the halftime show attracts viewers who have no interest in the game (without losing many sports fans in the process). It also airs in a prime timeslot; the game average includes the 6:30-7:30PM window, in which viewership levels can be smaller.