Super Bowl 2018 Ratings: How Many People Will Watch Patriots vs. Eagles?

There’s been plenty of talk regarding the declining NFL ratings. Viewership was down roughly 10 percent during the 2017 regular season, and the numbers have taken a hit in the 2018 playoffs, as well.

With fewer people watching football compared to last year, the NFL’s biggest game could see a decrease in ratings. How many people will watch Super Bowl LII between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles?

The Super Bowl first topped 100 million viewers in 2010. Even while the NFL isn’t getting the ratings they had hoped, it’s almost a near certainty that the game’s viewership will reach nine figures.

Super Bowl XLIV between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts set a then-record with 106.48 million viewers, according to Sports Media Watch. An estimated 108.69 million viewers watched Super Bowl XLVII between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers. Every other Super Bowl in the last eight years has surpassed 111 million viewers.

The 2017 Super Bowl, which saw the Patriots beat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime, finished with a 45.3 TV rating and an average viewership of 111.32 million people. That ranks fourth all-time in terms of viewership, though behind 2016’s 111.86 million viewers and 2015’s record-setting 114.44 million viewers.

This year’s AFC Championship Game averaged 44.1 million viewers, compared to the 46.3 million fans that watched the contest a season ago. The NFC Championship Game dropped from 48.0 million viewers to 42.3 million viewers, though that was partially because the contest was so one-sided.

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand recently said on the “SI Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch” that he wouldn’t be surprised to a see a five percent or six percent drop in viewership, which could mean as few as 104.6 million people watching. A 10 percent drop in viewership would still put the game at slightly over 100 million viewers, though that seems highly unlikely.

The NFL was likely pleased when the Patriots and Eagles were both victorious two weeks ago. Philadelphia is the country’s No.4 TV market, and Boston is seventh in the United States.

Just over 86 million people tuned into the 2005 Super Bowl when New England defeated Philadelphia 24-21. The previous year’s Super Bowl between the Patriots and Carolina Panthers drew nearly 90 million viewers.

When the New York Giants upset the undefeated Patriots in 2008, 97.45 million people tuned in to set a viewership record that lasted a year. New England has since played in three Super Bowls, never drawing fewer than 111 million viewers.

The Super Bowl is always the most-watched TV show of the year, and that will remain the case in 2018.