Super Bowl Sunday Was Most-Viewed Day Since 2021, Nielsen Says

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

Streaming share hits 6-month high, while overall viewing drops 6.4% in February, according to ratings firm

Kansas City Chiefs celebrate winning Super Bowl LVIII
Nielsen said the Kansas City Chiefs’ win in Super Bowl LVIII made Feb. 11 the most-viewed day of TV since it began issuing monthly reports almost four years ago. (Image credit: Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Super Bowl Sunday was the most-viewed day of TV since Nielsen began issuing monthly report cards in May 2021. 

Despite the big numbers for the big game on February 11, TV usage fell 6.4% from January, with cable’s share dropping to the lowest level on record.

Broadcast viewing fell 10% from January, and its share of television usage dropped to 23.3% from 24.2% in January. 

On Super Bowl Sunday, broadcast made up 43% of TV usage, with the big game on CBS generating nearly 30 billion viewing minutes. CBS also grabbed 17 million viewers for the Grammys and solid audiences as scripted shows such as Tracker, NCIS, FBI and Young Sheldon returned.

Streaming fell 1.9%, but its share of viewing increased to a six-month high of 37.7%, up from 36%. 

CBS’s coverage of the Super Bowl streamed on Paramount Plus, boosting the streaming service’s share of viewing to 1.1% from 0.9% in January. Paramount Plus also got a boost from Halo. 

Nielsen February 2024

(Image credit: Nielsen)

YouTube had its highest share ever, rising to 9.3% from 8.6% in January, while free ad-supported streaming services Pluto TV, Tubi and Roku all posted sizable gains.

Peacock’s share, boosted by the exclusive national carriage of an NFL playoff game in January, fell back to 1.4%. 

The most-viewed streaming titles were Young Sheldon on Netflix and Max, with 4.6 billion viewing minutes; Bluey on Disney Plus, with 4.5 billion minutes; and Grey’s Anatomy generating 3.5 billion minutes for Netflix. The top original streaming series was Netflix’s Griselda with 3.2 billion minutes.

Among the streaming services, YouTube continued to be No. 1, with a 9.3% share, up from 8.6% in January. Netflix had a 7.8% share, down from 7.9%; Hulu’s share was 2.8%, up from 2.7%;  Amazon Prime Video had 2.8%, unchanged; Tubi had a 1.7% share, up from 1.5%; Peacock had 1.4% of viewing , down from 1.6%; Max’s share was flat at1.3%; Paramount Plus was 1.1%, a jump from 0.9%; and Pluto TV has a 0.8% share, up from 0.7%

Cable viewing's share shriveled to 27.6% from 27.9% 

Cable news viewing rose 7% as audiences started tuning in to election-year coverage, Nielsen said. Sports viewing was down by about 30%, despite the NBA All-Star Weekend being the top cable show.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.