World Score: NFL Says Super Bowl LVII Was Also A Global Hit With 56M Viewers
Friday, March 3, 2023 at 11:00PM By Barry Janoff
March 3, 2023: On the heels of unveiling a NFL custom survey to include out-of-home numbers that showed Super Bowl LVII on Fox reached approximately 200 million viewers in the U.S. — up more than 70 million than initially shared – the league said a global audience of more than 56 million watched the Kansas City Chiefs 38-35 victory over Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 12, a 7% increase over 2022.
The NFL said Super Bowl LVII had the highest viewership among Big Game telecasts in Mexico and Brazil “in at least a decade” and in China was “the most-watched Super Bowl in the last six years.”
Also of importance, NFL Shop Internationals sales total revenue during Super Bowl LVII (Sunday–Monday) increased +45% compared to previous year, according to the league.
Global Super Bowl LVII social media interaction also increased.
The NFL said combined social video views totaled nearly 236 million, up 25% from Super Bowl LVI.
Total followers across all social channels is now more than 14.5 million, with a 372,000 increase in new followers gained during Super Bowl week, up 3% over same period last year.
In addition, 7.5 million-plus engagements were generated from more than 1,700 pieces of content.
"Global interest in the NFL continues to accelerate, and these numbers reflect the exciting growth in our sport around the world," Peter O'Reilly, NFL evp-club business, major events and international, said via the league.
"The Super Bowl is the pinnacle of our season and a must-watch cultural event. It's fantastic to end the year with so much momentum as we look towards next season.
Super Bowl LVII aired live in more than 190 countries/territories via 80-plus partners in some 25 languages, including Bell Media, DAZN (Canada); ESPN, Seven (Australia); Tencent, BesTV, GSports and GDTV (China); ProSieben, DAZN (Germany); Televisa, TV Azteca, ESPN, Fox (Mexico); and ITV, Sky Sports (U.K.).
In addition, NFL International supported the U.S. Department of State's Sports Diplomacy Division in facilitating 20 watch parties hosted at U.S. Embassies and Consulates. Watch party footage from Accra in Ghana, Munich in Germany, and Sao Paolo in Brazil was shown within the Fox broadcast, the World Feed, and inside the stadium on videoboards.
The NFL said the total viewership number was calculated using data from markets that include Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, United Kingdom, plus available data from more than 130 additional countries.
Following Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles on Fox, it was reported that Super Bowl LVII had an average audience of 113.1 million viewers.
The NFL said its custom survey shows the Super Bowl is "an event in which a large portion of viewers watch via out-of-home group settings."
The custom survey of 5,189 households conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago examined the size of viewing groups, regardless of location.
The NFL’s growing global tactic includes annual games in the U.K., Germany and Mexico (except for the 2023 season due to renovations taking place in Estadio Azteca in Mexico City).
The five ”host” teams to play in the five International Games scheduled for the 2023 season include the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars in London; and the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots in Germany.
The NFL said its 2022 International Games “saw record-breaking attendances and viewership as ticket demand and fandom continue to grow for the league across the world.”
"Growing the league and our sport internationally is a major strategic priority for the NFL, and we are excited to again be playing five games outside of the United States in 2023," said O'Reilly when the schedule was released.
“We know how important live regular season games are to our passionate global fans and we thank our clubs for their strong, long-term commitment to this important initiative. Interest in our game globally is at an all-time high, and we look forward to returning to the UK and Germany in 2023 with some of the most iconic clubs and stars in the NFL."
To support its global presence, the NFL in January 2022 launched its International Home Marketing Areas platform, granting specific teams access to designated foreign territories for marketing and fan engagement.
Super Bowl LVII saw numerous in-market activations worldwide for the broadcast.
These included official NFL watch parties hosted in Brazil, Canada and France; broadcaster-led watch parties hosted in Germany, Spain and Latin America; and partner-led watch parties in Australia and China.
Team-led International Home Marketing Area initiatives included Canada (Seattle Seahawks), Germany (Chiefs, Carolina Panthers), Ghana (Eagles) and Mexico (Chiefs).
In specific nations, according to the NFL:
• Mexico: Total audience reach of 20.7 million, with an average of 8.3 million viewers, up +10% year-on-year. The audience peaked at 10.2 million during the Apple Music Halftime Show.
• Canada: Total audience reach of 17.3 million, with an average of 8.7 million viewers, up +6% year-on-year. Audience peaked at 11.9 million during the Apple Music Halftime Show.
• Brazil: Total audience reach of 2.5 million, including an average audience of over 500,000, was up +19% year-on-year .
• China: Live-streaming audience of 6.2 million unique viewers, up 43% year-on-year.
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