Feb 3, 2014; New York, NY, USA; A general view of the Vince Lombardi Trophy and the Super Bowl MVP trophy during the winning team press conference the day after Super Bowl XLVIII at Sheraton New York Times Square. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos competed in a relatively boring Super Bowl last night with a lopsided score line. That didn’t stop it from becoming the most watched program in U.S. TV history.
The game set a ratings record at kick off.
Fox: “Rating at kickoff (44.5) ranks as the highest on record…”A more competitive game would have resulted in even higher viewership.”
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) February 3, 2014
As the Seahawks began to blow out the Broncos, fans stayed tuned in.
Even though it was a super bore, the Super Bowl’s four quarters averaged 111.5 million Americans — a new record: http://t.co/DfNeAXU6yd
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 3, 2014
The Super Bowl half time show featuring Bruno Mars was also the most watched in history.
A record 115.3M viewers watched Bruno Mars/Chili Peppers, making it the most viewed halftime show on record (Madonna had 114M 2 years ago).
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) February 3, 2014
In fact, more people could’ve been tuning in specifically for the halftime show.
Ratings climbed through the first half and peaked at a 47.9/71 from 7:30-8:00 PM ET as Seattle established a commanding 22-0 halftime lead.
So what does all this mean? Basically that the Super Bowl might be more than an interesting match up, that it has truly become an event. Fans kept watching despite the lopsided score for many potential reasons like parties or commercials. Nothing else is really on during the game.
