Super Bowl 52 Had Worst Ratings Since 2009

Super Bowl LII was a thrilling game that came down to the final play, but the battle between the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots wasn't the ratings juggernaut NBC might have wanted. According to Deadline, 103.4 million people watched the game, which is down 7 percent from last year's game. It was probably always a tough comparison, given that 2017's Super Bowl featured the unbelievable storyline of the Patriots completing an unprecedented come-from-behind win in overtime. Also worth noting is that game, which went to overtime for the first time in Super Bowl history, also did not set a ratings record.

103.4 million viewers represents the worst Super Bowl viewership since 2009's Super Bowl when the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 with 98.7 million people watching. Every Super Bowl since then has eclipsed 100 million viewers.

While this year's viewership might be down compared to previous years, an audience of 100 million is still absolutely massive. It's why advertisers paid a reported $5 million for 30-second commercials during the game. According to Deadline, Super Bowl LII is the 10th most-watched show in American TV history.

A further 2.6 million people watched Super Bowl LII via NBC's streaming services, along with the NFL's website and apps, and the Yahoo Sports app, among other destinations. With all of those extra sources accounted for, the total viewership of Super Bowl LII stood at around 106 million.

In other Super Bowl news, Madden's annual simulation of the big game got it wrong big-time this year, failing to predict the winning team and many other things about it. For lots more on Super Bowl LII, check out GameSpot's roundup of the best and funniest commercials from the big game. You can see more of this year's Super Bowl commercials below.

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