Feb 5, 2019

Super Bowl viewership sinks after a solid NFL season

Sara Fischer
Data: Kantar Media; Chart: Axios Visuals, Media Reports

By all accounts, Super Bowl LIII was a snoozer, and its ratings appear to reflect this. The broadcast was seen by a total of 98.2 million people, per Nielsen. CBS Sports said 100.7 million watched the program across TV and digital channels.

Why it matters: Overall, ratings were the lowest they've been in a decade. By contrast, ratings during the regular season last year were up about 5%, with most analysts citing more points being scored overall as the reason.

Yes, but: Despite declining Super Bowl viewership overall, advertising rates continue to hold steady, although reportedly plateauing this year. The Super Bowl is typically the most-watched annual broadcast event on TV in the U.S., making it a lucrative opportunity for advertisers.

Note: Axios' chart was created yesterday before final ratings were released, and thus show preliminary overnight Nielsen ratings, which can be indicative of overall viewing trends but are not final and subject to change.

Go deeper: Super Bowl ads highlight Big Tech debate

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Bloomberg: "I’m spending all my money to get rid of Trump"

Photo: Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg shot back at criticisms that he's running a self-aggrandizing campaign for the Democratic nomination, telling Reuters in an interview: "Number one priority is to get rid of Donald Trump. I’m spending all my money to get rid of Trump."

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Photo: David John Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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The state of play: CBS reportedly made an aggressive bid for college football's most-watched TV package, offering about $300 million per season, but network executives decided they would rather invest the money into airing other sports, per the Sports Business Journal.

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Sixth Democratic debate draws smallest audience in election cycle

Thursday night's Democratic primary debate. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

About 6.171 million people watched December's Democratic debate hosted by CNN, Politico and PBS NewsHour on Thursday, according to Nielsen data cited by CNN on Friday.

The big picture: That makes Thursday's debate the least-watched of this election cycle, The Hollywood Reporter notes. The second night of the first debate, hosted by NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo in June, was the most-watched Democratic primary debate of all time, with 18.1 million people tuning in.

Go deeperArrowDec 20, 2019