The Kansas City Chiefs’ 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII was watched by an average audience of 113 million people, making it the third-most-watched Big Game since the data has been tracked.
That number is the official game viewership — but according to a new survey from Nielsen commissioned by the NFL, it was likely even bigger.
The survey, which took into account the size of viewing groups, found that the average minute audience was about 136 million — marking a 20% increase from the initially reported numbers.
The survey also estimates that approximately 200 million people — or roughly 60% of the entire United States population — tuned in for at least a minute of this year’s Super Bowl.
Soon after the festivities, the league reported that 182.6 million watched, meaning these updated numbers represent a 9% increase.
“The Super Bowl is singular across the television and media landscape not only in its unparalleled viewership, but because it is largely watched in group settings,” the NFL’s chief data and analytics officer Paul Ballew said in a statement. “With that in mind, additional measurement is needed in order to have a complete picture of the total viewership of this special event and the results of this custom survey with Nielsen illustrate the true magnitude of the Super Bowl.”
“We recognize the uniqueness of this media event around group viewing parties and this additional custom survey helps supplement our audience measurement,” Nielsen’s global sports managing director Jon Stainer added in the press release.
The NFL will look to attain record viewership when its biggest moment takes the stage in Las Vegas next year.
