section_path: Television coverage and ratings
section_name: Television coverage and ratings
paragraph_text: Television coverage and ratings
  
  The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched annual sporting events in the world, with viewership overwhelmingly domestic. The only other annual event that gathers more viewers is the UEFA Champions League final. For many years, the Super Bowl has possessed a large US and global television viewership, and it is often the most-watched United States originating television program of the year. The game tends to have a high Nielsen television rating, which is usually around a 40 rating and 60 shares. This means that, on average, more than 100 million people from the United States alone are tuned into the Super Bowl at any given moment.
  
  In press releases preceding the game, the NFL has claimed that the Super Bowl has a potential worldwide audience of around one billion people in over 200 countries. However, this figure refers to the number of people able to watch the game, not the number of people who will actually be watching. Regardless, the statements have been frequently misinterpreted in the media as referring to the latter figure, leading to a misperception about the game's actual global audience. The New York-based media research firm Initiative measured the global audience for the Super Bowl XXXIX at 93 million people, with 98 percent of that figure being viewers in North America, which meant roughly two million people outside North America watched the Super Bowl that year.
  
  Super Bowl LVIII holds the record for average number of US viewers, with 123.7 million, making the game the most-viewed television broadcast of any kind in American history. The halftime show set a record with 129.2 million viewers tuning in.
  
  The highest-rated game according to Nielsen was Super Bowl XVI in 1982, which was watched in 49.1% of households (73 shares), or 40,020,000 households at the time. Super Bowl XVI still ranks fourth on Nielsen's list of top-rated programs of all time, with three other Super Bowls (XVII, XX, and XLIX) in the top ten.
  
  Famous Super Bowl commercials include the 1984 introduction of Apple's Macintosh computer, the Budweiser " Bud Bowl " campaign, and the dot-com ads aired during Super Bowl XXXIV. As the television ratings of the Super Bowl have steadily increased over the years, commercial prices have also increased, with advertisers paying as much as $7 million for a thirty-second spot during Super Bowl LVI in 2022. A segment of the audience tunes into the Super Bowl solely to view commercials. In 2010, Nielsen reported that 51 percent of Super Bowl viewers tune in for the commercials.
  
  Since 1991, the Super Bowl has begun between 6:19 and 6:40 PM EST so that most of the game is played during the primetime hours on the East Coast.
  
  The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched annual sporting events in the world, with viewership overwhelmingly domestic. The only other annual event that gathers more viewers is the UEFA Champions League final. For many years, the Super Bowl has possessed a large US and global television viewership, and it is often the most-watched United States originating television program of the year. The game tends to have a high Nielsen television rating, which is usually around a 40 rating and 60 shares. This means that, on average, more than 100 million people from the United States alone are tuned into the Super Bowl at any given moment.
  
  In press releases preceding the game, the NFL has claimed that the Super Bowl has a potential worldwide audience of around one billion people in over 200 countries. However, this figure refers to the number of people able to watch the game, not the number of people who will actually be watching. Regardless, the statements have been frequently misinterpreted in the media as referring to the latter figure, leading to a misperception about the game's actual global audience. The New York-based media research firm Initiative measured the global audience for the Super Bowl XXXIX at 93 million people, with 98 percent of that figure being viewers in North America, which meant roughly two million people outside North America watched the Super Bowl that year.
  
  Super Bowl LVIII holds the record for average number of US viewers, with 123.7 million, making the game the most-viewed television broadcast of any kind in American history. The halftime show set a record with 129.2 million viewers tuning in.
  
  The highest-rated game according to Nielsen was Super Bowl XVI in 1982, which was watched in 49.1% of households (73 shares), or 40,020,000 households at the time. Super Bowl XVI still ranks fourth on Nielsen's list of top-rated programs of all time, with three other Super Bowls (XVII, XX, and XLIX) in the top ten.
  
  Famous Super Bowl commercials include the 1984 introduction of Apple's Macintosh computer, the Budweiser " Bud Bowl " campaign, and the dot-com ads aired during Super Bowl XXXIV. As the television ratings of the Super Bowl have steadily increased over the years, commercial prices have also increased, with advertisers paying as much as $7 million for a thirty-second spot during Super Bowl LVI in 2022. A segment of the audience tunes into the Super Bowl solely to view commercials. In 2010, Nielsen reported that 51 percent of Super Bowl viewers tune in for the commercials.
  
  Since 1991, the Super Bowl has begun between 6:19 and 6:40 PM EST so that most of the game is played during the primetime hours on the East Coast.