Despite overtime finish, NFL Super Bowl draws lower TV ratings

FOX Television’s broadcast of Super Bowl LI on Sunday night drew 111.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen data released by the network on Monday, the smallest audience for the National Football League’s title game in four years.

Lady Gaga’s halftime show drew 117.5 million viewers.

Last year’s Super Bowl drew a 111.9 million viewers to CBS Corp’s (CBS.N) CBS, while the Patriots’ previous title game appearance in 2015 helped Comcast Corp’s (CMCSA.O) NBC television draw 114.4 million viewers, the most-watched TV broadcast in US history.

Despite the lower viewership, the brief overtime, in which the Patriots scored a touchdown in their first possession, allowed Fox to add four more commercials. It is not clear how many more ad dollars Fox was able to get; the network was charging US$ 5 million for 30seconds of airtime during the game.

Fox brought in an estimated US$ 509.6 million in ad revenue for the broadcast, according to research firm iSpot.TV.

Advertising took up 23 per cent of the broadcast, with 51 minutes and 30 seconds of commercials. That made it the second-most ad- cluttered Super Bowl game, according to ad-tracking firm Kantar Media.

The four-year viewership low comes on the heels of a disappointing NFL season that saw ratings decline 9 per cent and another 6 per cent through the playoffs leading up to the Super Bowl. — Reuters