Super Bowl LIII Brings In Low Overnight Ratings
Sunday's Super Bowl LIII telecast was not only devoid of drama, but the pitiful play resulted in some of the lowest ratings for the game in recent years.
According to the Sports Business Journal, the 13-3 victory by the New England Patriots over the Los Angeles Rams was the lowest rated Super Bowl in the last 10 years.
CBS received a 44.9 overnight rating for the lowest scoring Super Bowl in history.
Despite that, it was still watched by 100.7 million across the network's platforms, a three percent decline from last year's contest, a 41–33 Philadelphia Eagles win over the Patriots. That game had a 47.4 rating and was seen by 103.4 million people in the United States.
An overnight rating represents the number of households with television sets in the U.S. that were tuned in to a particular program.
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Also six out of every 10 people with televisions in Boston watched Sunday's game, while Los Angeles came in at a 44.6 rating, good for that city's best Super Bowl rating since 1996.
Those in New Orleans largely had no interest in Super Bowl LIII, earning a 26.1 rating, which was the lowest of any measured market.
The highest rated Super Bowl is Super Bowl XLIX between the Patriots and Seahawks. New England won that game 28–24 after Malcolm Butler picked off a last-minute pass from Russell Wilson.
NBC broadcast that game, which was seen by 114.4 million and remains the most watched television broadcast in history.
Of the 20 most watched programs in history, 17 of them are Super Bowls.
