African American, Hispanic and Female Viewers Help Drive Super Bowl XLV to Record Levels

Record numbers of African American, Hispanic and female viewers helped propel Super Bowl XLV to become the most-watched television program of all time. About 10 million Hispanic viewers watched the game, up from 8.3 million viewers last year. The African American audience also increased dramatically, with about 12.5 million African American viewers tuning into the game, compared to the 11.2 million last year.

The NFL Regular Season has seen a steady increase in its female fan base over the years, so it’s not surprising that Super Bowl XLV also generated an increase in female viewers. About 51.2 million female viewers watched Sunday’s game, compared to 48.5 million female viewers last year. The Super Bowl continues to be dominated by male viewers, who comprised 54 percent of the audience, but a much higher percentage of women watched the Super Bowl than followed the NFL regular season (when only 33.6 percent of the audience was female).

“Historically, sporting events, especially the Super Bowl, have captured a large audiences,” said Pat McDonough, Senior Vice President for Insights and Analysis at Nielsen. “If sports programmers want to grow their viewership, they will need to attract more women, African Americans and Hispanics, who are often underrepresented in the TV audience for many sporting events. This year’s Super Bowl sets a good example of how leagues can build bigger audiences.”

Nielsen data also shows that households with higher incomes are more likely to watch the game. In fact, as the household income increases, so does the rating.

And like previous Super Bowls, Nielsen data also shows that the age of the viewer matters. Adult viewers are more likely to watch the game, with the highest rating (41.9) coming from the 25-54 viewers.