Super Bowl LVIII Sets Modern Day Viewership Record: How Did NFL Championship Compare To Apollo 11 Moon Landing?

Zinger Key Points
  • Super Bowl LVIII hits record 123.4 million viewers, challenges historic broadcasts.
  • Apollo 11 Moon Landing remains most-watched, with estimated 125-150 million viewers.
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Super Bowl LVIII posted impressive viewership figures for the 2024 National Football League championship between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers.

However, this viewership achievement might still fall short of a historic U.S. television broadcast.

What Happened: The Chiefs defeated the 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII to win back-to-back NFL championships.

The game was broadcast on CBS and Nickelodeon and streamed on Paramount+, which are all units of Paramount Global PARAPARAA.

According to data from Paramount, Super Bowl LVIII was watched by an average of 123.4 million viewers. This represents a 7% year-over-year increase from Super Bowl LVII. CBS led the way with over 120 million viewers on average during the game.

Super Bowl LVIII was also the most-streamed Super Bowl in history, led by viewership on Paramount+.

A total of 202.4 million people watched at least a portion of Super Bowl LVIII, which set a Super Bowl record and was up 10% from last year's total.

Paramount's label of Super Bowl LVIII as the "most-watched telecast in history" could be qualified by others, with some, like CNN, calling it the most watched in “a generation.”

On July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 Moon Landing happened, featuring astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. The astronauts took their first steps on the moon on July 20, 1969, becoming the first people ever to do so. Astronaut Michael Collins, who was also part of the mission, flew the Columbia in lunar orbit waiting for Armstrong and Aldrin to rejoin.

The Apollo 11 Moon Landing is widely recognized as the most watched telecast in American history. The major difference is there weren't the same viewership tracking figures we have today.

Instead, estimates from CNN and Deadline point to 125 to 150 million people watching the moon landing as the most watched telecast in American history. The event was broadcast on CBS, NBC and ABC with CBS leading the ratings.

According to the New York Times, 94% of people that were watching television at the time of the moon landing were watching the event.

Related Link: Super Bowl Commercials 2024: Complete List Of Super Bowl LVIII Ads And Companies Behind Them

Why It's Important: According to Science and Media Museum, over 650 million people around the world watched the Apollo 11 Moon Landing.

Other events like the funerals of Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, royal weddings and major global sporting events like the World Cup and Olympic Games may have more global viewers than the most watched Super Bowls. Several of these events had billions of global viewers, or more than double

The record set by Paramount for the Super Bowl is an impressive one, but also comes with multiple viewing options to consumers on television and streaming at the same time the game was airing.

NFL contests continue to dominate the ratings and several records were set for media partners during the 2023 season and NFL Playoffs. In 2023, 93 of the top 100 most watched shows were NFL games, according to data from Nielsen. A report from Variety showed that 45 of the top 100 most watched primetime broadcasts in 2023 were NFL games.

Read Next: Super Bowl LVIII Could Break Viewership Records: Are Viewers More Excited About Football, Usher, Commercials Or Taylor Swift?

Photo: Shutterstock

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Posted In: SPACESportsTop StoriesGeneralApollo 11Buzz AldrinCBSMichael CollinsNeil ArmstrongParamount+Stories That MatterSuper BowlSuper Bowl LVIII
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