Super Bowl LIX Eyes TV Ratings Record With Nielsen Expansion

The potential of Super Bowl LIX posting a banner, and perhaps a historic, viewership number has increased following another methodology change by Nielsen.

The measurement agency said Monday it has expanded its coverage of the contiguous U.S. with its out-of-home analytics from 66% of the country as of last year to 100%. Harder-to-reach, rural areas have seen increased adoption of wearable devices on Nielsen’s persons panel, in turn fueling a fuller counting of television viewership. 

“The communal power of TV is undeniable and with this out-of-home expansion, we can more accurately provide the industry with the most complete picture of the viewing audience,” said Nielsen CEO Karthik Rao.

Nielsen originally introduced out-of-home measurement in 2020. As expected, it has since helped to solidify sports as a critical driver for the entire TV industry—due in no small part to substantial group viewing of live games in settings such as bars, restaurants, hotels, and transit hubs. 

This is the second major expansion for Nielsen in the last month, as the agency also recently gained full accreditation for its Big Data + Panel ratings, which adds data from sources such as set-top boxes and smart TVs to the company’s usual panel-based measurement. 

Game Watching 

The expanded metrics will be included in ratings for Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX, which is chasing the U.S. television record of 123.4 million set last year. 

That push could have something of an uphill climb given the potential of “Chiefs fatigue” as the team goes for its third straight title, as well as due to audience declines seen throughout the NFL regular season and playoffs. 

Separately, Nielsen has struck a multiyear audience measurement deal with CBS Sports parent Paramount, with the agreement providing a full range of viewership analytics across the company’s broadcast, cable, and streaming properties.