Super Bowl TV Broadcast History: Every Network Since 1967

Most-Watched Super Bowl Ever

Super Bowl LIX in 2025 set a new viewership record with approximately 127 million viewers on Fox, surpassing the previous record set by Super Bowl LVIII in 2024 (123.4 million on CBS). The sustained growth in Super Bowl viewership over the past several years reflects the expanding reach of streaming, with each network simulcasting the game on their digital platforms for the first time at scale.

For context, Super Bowl XLIX in 2015 (114.4 million viewers on NBC) was previously the most-watched American television broadcast of all time, a record it held for nearly a decade. The Super Bowl has now broken its own viewership record in three of the last four years.

Streaming vs. Cable Viewership

The NFL and its broadcast partners began formally counting streaming viewers in total audience figures starting around 2022. This change in methodology accounts for some of the apparent surge in viewership in recent years. The audience was always large — it is simply more accurately measured now than it was in the era when Nielsen only counted viewers on traditional television sets.

Streaming-only viewers of the Super Bowl have grown dramatically. Fox reported that Super Bowl LIX drew millions of concurrent streams on Fox Sports and Tubi in addition to traditional TV viewers. As cord-cutting continues, the streaming share of total Super Bowl viewership is expected to rise every year.

How the Audience Has Changed

The first Super Bowl in 1967 (then called the AFL–NFL World Championship Game) drew an estimated 51 million viewers across CBS and NBC, which simulcast the game. Television was still establishing itself as the dominant medium, and the AFL–NFL merger was fresh. Viewership grew steadily through the 1970s and 1980s, crossing 100 million for the first time in 2010 (Super Bowl XLIV, New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts, 106.5 million on CBS).

Since crossing the 100-million mark, the Super Bowl has become a cultural institution — one of the last major appointment television events in an era of on-demand everything. The halftime show has become as significant a draw as the game itself, and Super Bowl commercials have evolved into a standalone entertainment category.

For more context, see our Super Bowl History and Super Bowl Records pages.