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NFL, Nielsen survey finds two-thirds of U.S. saw Super Bowl

Jeff Dean/AP

Cincinnati Bengals fans attend a watch party during the second half of NFL football's Super Bowl 56 against the Los Angeles Rams Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022, at The Banks in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

By: Associated Press

Posted at 8:58 PM, Mar 01, 2022

and last updated 2022-03-01 20:58:31-05

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Approximately two-thirds of the United States watched the Super Bowl, according to a survey conducted by the National Football League and Nielsen.

Nielsen reported the total audience on NBC, Telemundo, Peacock and NFL digital platforms averaged 112.3 million viewers for the Los Angeles Rams 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Feb. 13.

Nielsen originally measured 167 million people watched at least one minute of the game. However, that swells to 208 million-plus when trying to take into account people watching the game in groups or out of the home.

The survey of 6,600 households, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago using the AmeriSpeak panel, examined the size of viewing groups at any location and to what extent those groups are larger than what’s currently measured. To estimate viewers who watched the game, the survey also took into account standard Nielsen measurement metrics.

“We are always looking for ways to more strongly collaborate with our clients to better understand who may be watching, and how they may be watching,” said Jon Stainer, Nielsen Sports Managing Director for the Americas. “We have worked closely with the NFL for years and performed other studies similar to this to better understand who may be tuning in to the largest TV event every year.”

Nielsen also found nearly 90% of all people using a television on Feb. 13 were watching the game.

Paul Ballew, Chief Data and Analytics Officer of the NFL, says the exact number of people watching the game has been challenging to pinpoint given people tend to gather in groups to watch it.

“We’re grateful for the work put into this custom survey by Nielsen, the results of which we feel provide the most accurate picture to date of the total viewership for this unique event,” he said.