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Super Bowl XLVIII Draws 111.5 Million Viewers, 25.3 Million Tweets

2 minute read | February 2014

According to preliminary results from Nielsen, the telecast of Super Bowl XLVIII on FOX drew an average audience of 111.5 million viewers, who tuned in to watch the first “cold weather” NFL Championship game. The game, in which the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos by a score of 43 to 8, was viewed in over 53 million homes and had a preliminary 46.4 U.S. household rating.

Additionally, Nielsen SocialGuide noted that 5.6 million people in the U.S. sent 25.3 million tweets over the course of the entire game.

Here is a look at historical viewership of the Super Bowl:

Historical Super Bowl Viewership

Super Bowl Date Network Household rating Avg. no. of homes (000s) Avg. no. of persons 2+ (000s) Teams (winners in capitals)
XLVIII Feb. 2, 2014 FOX 46.4 53,727 111,488 SEATTLE vs. Denver
XLVII Feb. 3, 2013 CBS 46.3 52,881 108,414 BALTIMORE vs. San Francisco
XLVI Feb. 5, 2012 NBC 47.1 53,910 111,346 NEW YORK GIANTS vs. New England
XLV Feb. 6 2011 FOX 46 53,282 111,041 GREEN BAY vs. Pittsburgh.
XLIV Feb. 7 2010 CBS 45 51,728 106,476 NEW ORLEANS vs. Indianapolis
XLIII Feb. 1 2009 NBC 42 48,139 98,732 Arizona vs. PITTSBURGH
XLII Feb. 3 2008 FOX 43.1 48,665 97,448 NEW YORK GIANTS vs. New England
XLI Feb. 4 2007 CBS 42.6 47,505 93,184 Chicago vs. INDIANAOPOLIS
XL Feb. 5 2006 ABC 41.6 45,867 90,745 Seattle vs. PITTSBURGH
XXXIX Feb. 6 2005 FOX 41.1 45,081 86,072 Philadelphia vs. NEW ENGLAND
XXXVIII Feb. 1 2004 CBS 41.4 44,908 89,795 Carolina vs. NEW ENGLAND
XXXVII Jan. 26 2003 ABC 40.7 43,433 88,637 TAMPA BAY vs. Oakland
XXXVI Feb. 3 2002 FOX 40.4 42,664 86,801 St. Louis vs. NEW ENGLAND
XXXV Jan. 28 2001 CBS 40.4 41,270 84,335 NY Giants vs. BALTIMORE
XXXIV Jan. 30 2000 ABC 43.3 43,618 88,465 ST. LOUIS vs. Tennessee
XXXIII Jan. 31 1999 FOX 40.2 39,992 83,720 Atlanta vs. DENVER
XXXII Jan. 25 1998 NBC 44.5 43,630 90,000 GREEN BAY vs. Denver
XXXI Jan. 26 1997 FOX 43.3 42,000 87,870 GREEN BAY vs. New England
XXX Jan. 28 1996 NBC 46 44,145 94,080 DALLAS vs. Pittsburgh
XXIX Jan. 29 1995 ABC 41.3 39,400 83,420 SAN FRANCISCO vs. San Diego
XXVIII Jan. 30 1994 NBC 45.5 42,860 90,000 DALLAS vs. Buffalo
XXVII Jan. 31 1993 NBC 45.1 41,990 90,990 DALLAS vs. Buffalo
XXVI Jan. 26 1992 CBS 40.3 37,120 79,590 WASHINGTON vs. Buffalo
XXV Jan. 27 1991 ABC 41.9 39,010 79,510 NEW YORK GIANTS vs. Buffalo
XXIV Jan. 28 1990 CBS 39 35,920 73,852 SAN FRANCISCO vs. Denver
XXIII Jan. 22 1989 NBC 43.5 39,320 81,590 SAN FRANCISCO vs. Cincinnati
XXII Jan. 31 1988 ABC 41.9 37,120 80,140 WASHINGTON vs. Denver
XXI Jan. 25 1987 CBS 45.8 40,030 87,190 NEW YORK GIANTS vs. Denver
XX Jan. 26 1986 NBC 48.3 41,490 92,570 CHICAGO vs. New England
XIX Jan. 20 1985 ABC 46.4 39,390 85,530 SAN FRANCISCO vs. Miami
XVIII Jan. 22 1984 CBS 46.4 38,880 77,620 Washington vs. LA RAIDERS
XVII Jan. 30 1983 NBC 48.6 40,480 81,770 WASHINGTON vs. Miami
XVI Jan. 24 1982 CBS 49.1 40,020 85,240 SAN FRANCISCO vs. Cincinnati
XV Jan. 25 1981 NBC 44.4 34,540 68,290 Philadelphia vs. OAKLAND
XIV Jan. 20 1980 CBS 46.3 35,330 76,240 LA Rams vs. PITTSBURGH
XIII Jan. 21 1979 NBC 47.1 35,090 74,740 Dallas vs. PITTSBURGH
XII Jan. 15 1978 CBS 47.2 34,410 78,940 DALLAS vs. Denver
XI Jan. 09 1977 NBC 44.4 31,610 62,050 Minnesota vs. OAKLAND
X Jan. 18 1976 CBS 42.3 29,440 57,710 Dallas vs. PITTSBURGH
IX Jan. 12 1975 NBC 42.4 29,040 56,050 Minnesota vs. PITTSBURGH
VIII Jan. 13 1974 CBS 41.6 27,540 51,700 Minnesota vs. MIAMI
VII Jan. 14 1973 NBC 42.7 27,670 53,320 Washington vs. MIAMI
VI Jan. 16 1972 CBS 44.2 27,450 56,640 DALLAS vs. Miami
V Jan. 17 1971 NBC 39.9 23,980 46,040 Dallas vs. BALTIMORE
IV Jan. 11 1970 CBS 39.4 23,050 44,270 Minnesota vs. KANSAS CITY
III Jan. 12 1969 NBC 36 20,520 41,660 Baltimore vs. NY JETS
II Jan. 14 1968 CBS 36.8 20,610 39,120 GREEN BAY vs. Oakland
I Jan. 15 1967 CBS 22.6 12,410 26,750 GREEN BAY vs. Kansas City
I Jan. 15 1967 NBC 18.5 10,160 24,430 GREEN BAY vs. Kansas City
Source: Nielsen
Notes: Super Bowl I (Jan. 15, 1967) aired on both CBS and NBC. Beginning Dec. 26, 2005, viewing estimates on this page include Live or Same Day viewing (defined as 3 a.m. to 3 a.m.) using timeshifting, such as DVR playback.

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