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February 4, 2013
 

The Sked: Super Bowl Ratings Summary and Comparisons to the Past

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Written by: Mitch Metcalf
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Partial ratings are in for last night’s Super Bowl (the household rating from the 56 markets with local Nielsen meters, covering 70% of the country).  Excluding the 8:45-9:15 pm half hour, most of which was the truly embarrassing Superdome blackout, the game averaged a 48.1 household rating in the metered markets, edging the previous record of 47.9 in 2011.  The blackout also inspired some incredibly awkward and lame attempts at comedy by CBS announcers.  Dan Marino: “I guess Beyonce really blew out the lights (with her halftime show).”  Jim Nantz (to Phil Simms): “Hey partner, let me know next time before you plug in your phone charger.”  Oy.

Given past trends, the national household rating should drift down to about a 47.5, still setting a new record.

Super Bowl Ratings Metered Markets National
Last five years  HH Rtg Shr HH Rtg Shr
2013 CBS BAL 34 SF 31 48.1 71 n/a n/a
2012 NBC NYG 21 NE 17 47.8 71 47.0 71
2011 FOX GB 31 PIT 25 47.9 71 46.0 69
2010 CBS NO 31 IND 17 46.4 68 45.0 68
2009 NBC PIT 27 ARI 23 42.1 65 42.0 64
Multi-year Averages in Nielsen PeopleMeter Era
2010-12 (3 Super Bowls) 47.4 70 46.0 69
2002-09 (8 Super Bowls) 43.1 63 41.6 63
1988-01 (14 Super Bowls) 42.2 62 42.6 64

Later today we will know how many viewers of any age (2+) watched during an average minute, probably 113 or 114 million.  Meanwhile the “total audience” (those who watched at least a few minutes over the course of the game) could approach 170 million, which would also be a record.

Super Bowl Ratings Millions 2+
Average Minute Total Audience
2013 CBS BAL 34 SF 31 n/a n/a
2012 NBC NYG 21 NE 17 111.3 166.8
2011 FOX GB 31 PIT 25 111.0 162.9
2010 CBS NO 31 IND 17 106.5 153.4
2009 NBC PIT 27 ARI 23 98.7 151.6
Multi-year Averages in Nielsen PeopleMeter Era
2010-12 (3 Super Bowls) 109.6 161.0
2002-09 (8 Super Bowls) 91.4 141.2
1988-01 (14 Super Bowls) 84.8 124.8



About the Author

Mitch Metcalf
MITCH METCALF has been tracking every US film release of over 500 screens (over 2300 movies and counting) since the storied weekend of May 20, 1994, when Maverick and Beverly Hills Cop 3 inspired countless aficionados to devote their lives to the art of cinema. Prior to that, he studied Politics and Economics at Princeton in order to prepare for his dream of working in television. He has been Head of West Coast Research at ABC, then moved to NBC in 2000 and became Head of Scheduling for 11 years.