Record-Breaking Super Bowl Audience Shows Why Leagues Are Hesitant to Shift Sports to Streaming
Super Bowl LVIII drew 123.4 million viewers according to CBS, and was the most-streamed Super Bowl in the history of the game.
While Super Bowl LVIII may have been something of a snooze for the first three quarters, the fourth quarter of the game and overtime were more than enough to make for a compelling game overall. The Kansas City Chiefs ultimately defeated the San Francisco 49ers, but the real victor was Paramount Global. It announced this week that Nielsen measured Super Bowl LVIII drawing an average of 123.4 million viewers across all platforms, making it the most-watched telecast in the history of TV.
- CBS drew 120 million viewers, the largest audience in the history of the Super Bowl on a single network.
- Super Bowl LVIII was also the most-streamed Super Bowl in history, though Paramount did not reveal specific numbers for its audience on Paramount+.
- The ratings show why companies and leagues don’t want to move their product away from TV until there’s no other choice.
How Big a Success Was Super Bowl LVIII For Paramount?
Paramount offered viewers three different outlets for watching Super Bowl LVIII; fans could watch the main broadcast on CBS, or they could head to Nickelodeon to watch a special “SpongeBob SquarePants“-themed version of the game with characters and settings from the show aimed specifically at kids and families. Alternatively, viewers could choose to stream the CBS version of the game live on Paramount+, using either subscription plan. The game was also available on Univision for Spanish-language audiences and streamed on NFL+ as well.
Despite all of the disparate outlets carrying the games, Paramount reports that CBS garnered the largest audience for the Super Bowl on a single channel in history with 120 million viewers. Super Bowl LVIII was also reportedly streamed more than any other Super Bowl in history, though Paramount did not break out specific numbers for the game’s viewership on Paramount+ and NFL+.
In all, over 200 million viewers watched part or all of the Super Bowl across multiple networks and platforms. According to Paramount, that’s an increase of around 10% over last year’s Super Bowl, which drew 184 million viewers for at least some portion of the game.
Sports Are Staying on TV…For Now
The historic ratings demonstrate the chief reason why TV executives and sports league commissioners have been unwilling to move sports games to a streaming-only format. No streaming program in history has ever come close to drawing 123 million people watching at the same time, and though streaming titles can compile billions of minutes of viewing time per year, the wider penetration of broadcast and cable TV, coupled with the relatively lower barriers for accessing those formats, still make it easier to watch sports on traditional TV than on streaming services.
That isn’t to say that providers aren’t looking for more ways to offer customers who want to stream sports a way to do it. That’s the motivation behind Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision to pool the sports rights from their linear channels and streaming outlets onto a new platform that will launch this fall. But those providers won’t be moving these broadcasts off of traditional TV in the process; not only would this likely lead to a swift reaction from government regulators, but it would deprive the three companies of critical ad revenues they get from those channels,
Indeed, ad revenues are one of the biggest reasons for sports to continue on TV until the audience size dictates they move to streaming. Leagues and TV providers still rely on the amount they get paid for ads during broadcasts of live games; for example, ads during this year’s Super Bowl cost around $7 million each for companies to air.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell bluntly stated that a streaming-only Super Bowl would not happen during his tenure, despite the fact that an NFL Wild Card game streamed exclusively on Peacock this season, and Prime Video will get its own Wild Card game next year.
“One of the secrets of our success is we are really committed to broadcast television,” Goodell said before the Super Bowl. “Ninety percent of our games are on broadcast television. I think it’s the reason why you will see over 200 million people watch this game here in the United States because it’s on broadcast television and the broadest possible platform.”
Providers and leagues are seeking ways to make their games available to as wide an audience as possible, which means that Max, Paramount+, Peacock, Prime Video, and other subscription video services will look to expand their sports offerings wherever possible. But providers know full well how important their linear channels are in delivering viewers and revenue, and that means there won’t be a shift to streaming-only for any major sports leagues any time in the near future.
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and more. The lineup includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.