Super Bowl LVIII becomes the most watched TV broadcast since the moon landing in 1969

The Chiefs wore their red home jerseys with white pants while the 49ers wore their white jerseys with gold pants. Fans cheered and hooted. The stadium was full of hot zeal, pizzazz, and raw energy. The game of Super Bowl LVIII was, no wonder, one of the most anticipated events of 2024. And unsurprisingly, the event broke all the records when it comes to its viewership and television ratings. Super Bowl LVIII garnered a soaring rating of 123.4 million viewers across all platforms. This is TV’s biggest audience ever and this show is the most-watched telecast ever in history, after the 1969 telecast of the moon landing, as reported by CNN. The game was played on February 11, 2024, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. This was the first Super Bowl to be held in the state of Nevada and the city of Las Vegas.

The game was collectively broadcast by CBS, NFL Network and Univision which hosted the Spanish version. It featured the American Football Conference (AFC) champion and defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs defeating the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers 25 to 22 in overtime. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP), completing 34 of 46 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns. It was also the longest Super Bowl by a margin of ten minutes and fifty-nine seconds.

In the watersmeet of so many X-factors that led the game to become so popular, there was one factor that was the cherry on top of the cake. Nestled amidst the cheering crowd was also the popstar Taylor Swift, who had visited the game right after her Eras Tour show in the Tokyo Dome, held on the evening before the day of the match. According to CNN Entertainment, the game, therefore, has been dubbed by fans and media outlets as the "Taylor Swift Bowl" or "Swiftie Bowl", referencing singer Swift and her fans, which are known as Swifties. Swift made her appearance in the Super Bowl to support her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. For this reason, the fans of both Swift and Kelce were dubbed 'Chiefties.' “She is without a doubt incremental to the audience on the NFL. She’s a great addition, widening the net of the NFL viewer even further,” Bob Bakish, the chief executive of CBS parent company Paramount Global said in a Bloomberg interview.

According to The Atlantic, CBS utilized 165 cameras, including six doink cams embedded within the goal posts, 48 cameras capable of high frame rate video for zoom capabilities and augmented reality effects. Apart from these, several robotic cameras were placed throughout the city at The Strat, Planet Hollywood Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay, and the Renaissance Las Vegas. Another camera ran on a wire over the Bellagio fountains. CBS televised the game in 1080p with high-dynamic-range color, upconverted to 4K on Paramount+ and selected television providers. In addition to the staggering viewership, this season also broke the viewership, merchandise, and ticket sales records for the NFL.

Additionally, the game also broke all records in sales through advertising. As put by Variety, CBS received between $6.5 million to $7 million for a 30-second ad. Fox too took around $600 million in advertising.