A custom study by the NFL and Nielsen found that 208 million people watched Super Bowl LVI, the league and its ratings partner said.
Nielsen initially reported that 167 million unique users viewed the game for at least one minute, but the study looked closer at viewership among groups at parties, bars and restaurants.
The second look was based on a survey of 6,600 households and was conducted by Nielsen through the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Nielsen also found that 90% of all people using a television on Feb. 13 were watching the Super Bowl, the highest such share in history.
In a statement, NFL chief data and analytics officer Paul Ballew said: “While it’s no secret that the Super Bowl is the biggest event across the media landscape on a yearly basis, the exact number of people watching the game has been challenging to pinpoint given the fact that people tend to gather in groups to watch the game. We’re grateful for the work put into this custom survey by Nielsen, the results of which we feel provide the most accurate picture to date of the total viewership for this unique event.”
Jon Stainer, Nielsen sports managing director for the Americas, said in in part: “While we are confident in our measurement, which is the gold standard for the industry, we are always looking for ways to more strongly collaborate with our clients to better understand who may be watching, and how they may be watching.
“We have worked closely with the NFL for years and performed other similar studies to better understand who may be tuning in to the largest TV event every year.”