Super Bowl Draws 102 Million Viewers on Fox, Up From Last Year

(Bloomberg) -- The Super Bowl broadcast on Fox drew 102 million viewers, rising slightly from last year as the NFL continues to win back its audience following a slowdown in recent seasons.

The Sunday-night championship, in which the Kansas City Chiefs won 31-20 against the San Francisco 49ers, was close until the final minutes -- a boon for advertisers since many viewers likely stayed riveted to the screen.

The audience total includes viewership on Fox, its Fox Deportes Spanish-language network and digital properties of Fox, the NFL and Verizon Communications Inc.

Last year’s game, a low-scoring affair between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams, drew a total viewership of 100.7 million on CBS broadcast and digital.

The Super Bowl is still the most popular TV event of the year, but its audience had been declining after hitting a record in 2015, when 114.4 million TV viewers tuned in.

The game rotates annually among Fox Corp.’s Fox, ViacomCBS Inc.’s CBS and Comcast Corp.’s NBC.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gerry Smith in New York at gsmith233@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, John J. Edwards III

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