From all accounts — I didn’t watch — Super Bowl LIII was a snoozer. Whether it was the lack of offense that the National Football League (NFL) has tried so hard to combat over the past few years or the reportedly pedestrian halftime show, the game didn’t live up to expectations. From everything I heard and saw about the game, the best part of the whole thing was singer Gladys Knight’s rendition of the national anthem.
Judging by the overnight ratings for the game, it seems that the NFL is going to need to work harder to get people to tune in to the yearly spectacle.
According to Deadline Hollywood:
Shown on CBS for the first time since 2016 and with ad spots going for around $5 million each, the Rams’ loss scored a 44.9/68 in metered market results.
To put that in the starkest light of day, that’s a dip of just over 5.2% from the big NFL battle of February 4, 2018 on NBC in the first round of ratings. On a larger playing field, that metered market result for yesterday’s game is the worst the Super Bowl has done in the early numbers since the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals on February 1, 2009.
That's right! Despite the NFL seeing increased TV ratings during the regular season, the league just couldn’t drum up enough interest in the 53rd edition of the NFL's biggest game of the year that saw the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams by a score of 13-3.
The drop is somewhat surprising considering that the two teams in the Super Bowl represent significantly large markets, Southern California and the New England area.
It’ll be interesting to see what changes the NFL makes in the offseason in the aftermath of a very underwhelming Super Bowl. I guess New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick’s quest for a sixth Super Bowl ring wasn’t enough to get people to watch this year’s game. On the other hand, it could simply be that people are tired of the NFL's "social justice" acquiescence. Either way, people didn't tune in.