Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals was a massive ratings success.
Pro Football Focus notes that 112.3 million people saw that Rams defeat the Bengals 23-20 "across all platforms." This represents a 14% ratings bump from a year ago, when the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers met in Super Bowl LV.
On one hand, it shouldn't be shocking that this year's Super Bowl crushed last year's in terms of ratings when you consider that the Buccaneers throttled the Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl LV.
Still, last year's Super Bowl featured Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. For this year's game to have so much success in terms of ratings when both Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow were making their first appearances on the sport's biggest stage suggests that the NFL will continue to be a ratings king, even as the league enters -- at least we think -- the post-Brady Era.
It's probably impossible to quantify how many people turned the game on simply for the allure of it being played in Los Angeles, but certainly for those 50 and under, let's say, the chance to watch a halftime show with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak was appealing as well.
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram