Super Bowl LVIII was as exciting as it could be as the Chiefs won against the 49ers 25-22. While the first 3 quarters of the game were mediocre from a statistical point of view, the 4th quarter was beyond belief. However, the Super Bowl is a business which means being popular determines whether it was successful or not. Therefore, How Popular was Super Bowl LVIII for viewers, for bookies and bettors?
In terms of excitement, it was a hit. This is because it was only the second time in NFL history that a Super Bowl game went into overtime. In addition, it was also the first time in Super Bowl History that the new overtime rule was put into action. Thus, a coach had to decide for the first time whether to keep the ball or not in overtime.
In terms of entertainment, the Super Bowl halftime show with Usher was entertaining but was not a hit. According to Rolling Stone magazine, Usher did not make the top 10 best Super Bowl halftime show. Overall, the review was not bad but nor was it good. Other reviews also had mix feeling about his performance.
On the other hand, according to TV intelligence company Samba TV, Usher’s first Super Bowl show drew 30.1 million households. They went as far as to say that it was 5% more popular then Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII performance.
How Successful was Super Bowl LVIII – Viewership Hits 123.4 million Viewers
Super Bowl LVIII made it into the record books for many reasons. As far as Super Bowl history goes, Super Bowl LVIII had the most viewership ever. In fact, it beat the previous year by 8.3 million which at the time was the most viewed Super Bowl.
According to CBS, they had 120 million viewers on CBS. The rest of the viewers came from Univision, Paramount Plus and Nickelodeon. CBS claims that Super Bowl LVIII was the “most-watched telecast in history” with 123.4 million viewers. Well, they claim it is, it is a bit ambiguous depending how you look at it.
Back on July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 Moon landing got between 125-150 million viewers. While the numbers may be bigger, it was a joint effort between several TV stations, mainly NBA and ABC. However, one could argue that the moon landing was a joint broadcast so it was not the most watched event. But then again, so was the Super Bowl as it was also streaming on different platforms.
Last but not least, the FIFA 2022 World Cup got about 1.5 billion viewers worldwide. With this in mind, we will just assume that the claim is for a U.S. broadcast.
The Taylor Swift Factor
Bookie Pay Per Head believe that the increase was not just because of an increase popularity in the NFL. No, a large part of it was probably because of Taylor Swift fans. Many of them would probably never watch football.
However, ever since she began a romantic relationship with Travis Kelce, NFL viewership has been up. While no study has been made to tie her attendance and dating Kelce to Super Bowl viewership, she does make an impact. A study says that 20% of Super Bowl viewers were rooting for the Chiefs because of her relationship with Kelce.
How did the Sportsbook do for Super Bowl LVIII – A $23.1 Billion Handle but…
The sportsbook took in a record $23.1 billion in Super Bowl bets. In itself, this is a great number and really shows how betting on sports is becoming more popular. Furthermore, it is a 35% over last year’s Super Bowl betting handle. Overall, the American Gaming Association estimates that 42.7 million people made a bet on the Super Bowl. However, a lot of people betting on the Super Bowl does not mean a large or any Super Bowl profit. it all depends on whether or not the sportsbooks were able to even out the odds on both sides.
For Super Bowl LVIII, as most sportsbooks took a loss after the Chiefs won in overtime. This is because most of the wagers were made on the Kansas City Chiefs to win. Most wagers were made on the 2 to 2.5 point spread while the rest were on the money line.
For the total bets, the jury is still out but many sportsbooks were in need of the under to win. Bookies that had the total at 47.5 did fine while those at 47 had to give the money back. However, many books had the over/under at 46.5 by the time the game began.
Overall, it was a success for the NFL, a loss for the sportsbook, and a win for football bettors.
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