The numbers don't lie: Arizona hosts the best Super Bowls
There’s something about an Arizona Super Bowl.
As in, everybody watches them.
Thanks to revised numbers, Super Bowl 57, in which the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Feb. 12, is now the most-watched telecast in history.
The telecast it beat out for the record? Super Bowl 49 in 2015, in which the New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24. Also at State Farm Stadium in Glendale (then known as University of Phoenix Stadium).
It’s a comeback victory of sorts for Super Bowl 57. Nielsen, the television ratings service, originally said 113.06 million people watched the game. On Tuesday Nielsen said that after revising the numbers, 115.1 million people watched, overtaking Super Bowl 49, which had 114.4 million viewers. (The discrepancies were due to technical glitches, more or less.)
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Rihanna had more viewers than the football game
Of note: the numbers for Super Bowl 57 include viewers on Fox, Fox Deportes and on digital platforms (Fox and NFL properties). The numbers for Super Bowl 49 did not.
Whatever the case, Rihanna beat them all — according to the revised ratings her halftime performance is now officially the most-watched ever, with more than 121 million viewers. That puts her ahead of Katy Perry’s halftime show, which drew 118.5 million viewers — during Super Bowl 49.
Why the huge numbers in Arizona? There are a few reasons. One is that the games tend to be good, and controversial. The Patriots’ win in Super Bowl 49 had a controversial ending, with the Seahawks electing to pass the ball on the goal line instead of running it, resulting in an interception that sealed the deal for Brady and the Patriots.
In Super Bowl 57, officials called holding on Eagles defensive back James Bradberry near the end of the game, a hugely controversial call that exploded social media and allowed the Chiefs to keep their eventual game-winning drive going.
It never hurts to be talked about.
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Katy Perry had the previous most-watched halftime show
As for the halftime shows, Perry was riding high in 2015. And an inadvertent viral moment — a goofy backup dancer who didn’t seem to know the choreography and will forever be known as “Left Shark” — certainly helped.
Rihanna, meanwhile, had not performed live in more than five years, so anticipation was huge.
Viewers wondered on social media if she was pregnant; she confirmed afterward that she was. The performance inspired glowing reviews — as well as more than 100 formal complaints lodged with the Federal Communications Commission.
That’s a powerful TV combination.
The next Super Bowl will take place in Las Vegas, in 2024. In 2025 it’ll be played in New Orleans.
After that, the NFL hasn’t decided. But with ratings like this, how can Phoenix not be in the mix?
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Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Super Bowl 57 at State Farm Stadium was the most-watched ever
