This year’s Super Bowl was watched by more streaming viewers across more digital platforms than ever before, CBS said this week.
According to Nielson ratings cited by CBS, the Big Game drew a whopping 115.5 million viewers this year, including 3.96 million unique viewers on digital platforms including desktops, laptops, connected TV devices, and phones.
CBS said the figures make Super Bowl 50 the third most-watched program in television history. The previous two Super Bowls – 48 and 49 – were the only other programs with a larger TV audience.
The average minute audience during the game was 1.4 million viewers, compared to NBC’s reports from last year of 1.3 million concurrent viewers, CBS said. NBC reported 114.4 million viewers at peak time for last year’s Super Bowl XILX.
For the first time this year, national ads ran concurrently in both CBS’s broadcast and online live stream. CBS also expanded the various outlets where viewers could find the livestream, including CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports app for tablets and connected TVs. Verizon also offered real-time video and stats during the game through their partnership with NFL Mobile.
YouTube also reported Super Bowl-related growth, with teases and full ads being watched more than 330 million times. For the first time, the number of viewers using mobile devices as opposed to desktop or laptop computers to watch Super Bowl ads on YouTube reached 60 percent.
YouTube said in a Monday blog post that people spent 300,000 hours watching Super Bowl ads during the game and more than 4 million hours total watching this year’s ads and teasers. Super Bowl ads have a long tail on YouTube, with traffic spiking the Monday after.
At least 13 companies pre-released their full Super Bowl ads before game day, including Acura, Axe, Heintz Ketchup, Honda, LG Televisions, Mini, Pokemon and Shock Top. The most-watched ads? Hyundai’s talking bear Elantra spot and the Pokemon 20th anniversary ad.
Twitter and Facebook saw a lot of Super Bowl chatter, of course, but Facebook’s numbers were actually slightly down; with 60 million people creating 200 million posts, comments, and likes, Super Bowl 50 didn’t generate as much buzz as Super Bowl XILX.
