The Super Bowl is annually the most watched television event in the United States and this year was no exception as the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers brought in monstrous ratings.
According to Fox Sports, the Chiefs' 31-20 win over the 49ers averaged 99.9 million viewers on Fox. When you include digital viewers who streamed the game, that total jumped up to 102.1 million, making the game the 10th most watched Super Bowl of all-time and the 11th most-watched TV show ever. Overall, there was a total of 148.5 million people who watched at least part of the game.
There have only been 11 shows in American television history that have averaged more than 100 million viewers -- and 10 of those are Super Bowls. The only non-Super Bowl to top the 100 million viewer mark came in February 1983 when the M*A*S*H finale drew 106 million viewers on CBS.
The viewership number for Super Bowl LIV peaked between 9:45 p.m. ET and 10 p.m. ET, when an estimated 103.5 million viewers watched as the Chiefs ice their win over the 49ers in what was a one-score game until Damien Williams sealed things with a 38-yard touchdown run with 1:12 left to play.
The Super Bowl also drew a 41.6 rating, which beat out last year's Super Bowl by a small margin. A rating is the percentage of viewers with a TV who were watching the game.
Super Bowl LIV also pulled in a 69 share, which means 69 percent of people who were watching TV on Sunday were watching the Super Bowl. The 69 share is the highest since February 2017 when the Patriots and Falcons overtime game pulled in a 70 share. The highest share ever came in Super Bowl XVI when the Bengals and 49ers drew a 73.
Not surprisingly, Kansas City and San Francisco had two of the highest shares on Sunday. The Chiefs' hometown drew an 89, which is the highest of any city in the United States. On the west coast, San Francisco drew a share of 83.
Nearly everyone single person in Kansas City was watching the end of the game as the city peaked with a share of 97 in the fourth quarter, which means 97 percent of people who were watching television on Sunday night in Kansas City were watching the Super Bowl. If you're wondering what the other 3% of people were doing, Fox Sports executive vice president Michael Muvlihill has that answer.
In response to KC peaking at a 97 share a lot of people are asking “What about the other 3%?” So for the record:
— Michael Mulvihill (@mulvihill79) February 3, 2020
Kansas City - 9:00-9:15pm CT
Super Bowl LIV - FOX - 97 share
NCIS - CBS - 1 share
Dr. Pimple Popper - TLC - 1 share https://t.co/jZdQm6WryB
Kansas City also had a local rating of 55.7, which was the highest in the country.
Here's a look at the top-11 rated shows in TV history (via Nielsen)
1. Super Bowl 49: 114.4M (NBC)
2. Super Bowl 48: 112.2M (Fox)
3. Super Bowl 50: 111.9M (CBS)
4. Super Bowl 46: 111.35M (NBC)
5. Super Bowl 51: 111.32M (Fox)
6. Super Bowl 45: 111.0M (Fox)
7. Super Bowl 47: 108.7M (CBS)
8. Super Bowl 44: 106.5M (CBS)
9. M*A*S*H: 106.0M (CBS)
10.Super Bowl 52: 103.5M (NBC)
11. Super Bowl 54: 102.1M (Fox)