The number of people who watched the Super Bowl LV matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs was the lowest in over a decade, ratings showed.
About 96.4 million people watched Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady notch his seventh Super Bowl victory, 31-9, on CBS, a 5.5% decrease from 2020 when Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes led his team to victory over the San Francisco 49ers, according to Nielsen Media Research ratings. The ratings account for those who watched it on cable and those who streamed the big game.
Despite the disappointing ratings, streaming services saw a 65% increase in Super Bowl viewership compared to 2020, with nearly 6 million streamers tuning in.
The last time a Super Bowl attracted fewer viewers was in 2007 when the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears. That Super Bowl had 91.6 million viewers.
The decrease in viewership might be partly attributable to the coronavirus pandemic. The social distancing guidelines likely resulted in fewer casual fans joining exuberant gatherings hosted by loyal viewers. This decrease is in keeping with advice from medical experts such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, who asked fans to forego large Super Bowl parties and instead “lay low and cool it” to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
Many expected a Super Bowl for the ages with Mahomes and Brady, both of whom have won victory rings, going up against each other, but that wasn’t the case on Sunday. While Brady, who was named Super Bowl MVP, threw for three touchdowns, including two to his former New England Patriots teammate Rob Gronkowski, Mahomes threw for two interceptions, and the Chiefs were kept out of the end zone.
The game itself featured 22,000 fans in the stands and 30,000 cutouts as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Of the fans in attendance, a third were vaccinated healthcare workers who were given tickets for free.
The Washington Examiner reached out to representatives for Nielsen TV, a ratings company that measures Super Bowl viewership, for comment but did not receive an immediate reply.
