Super Bowl XLVII between 49ers and Ravens nets highest TV ratings of all time
Baltimore Ravens free safety Ed Reed celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. (Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports)
The potent combination of Beyonce’s sizzling halftime show, an unprecedented power outage and the 49ers electric surge after the lights came back on all resulted in a Super Bowl for the ages.
[Related: Take an in-depth look at how the Ravens escaped the Niners' furious comeback attempt]
And the masses responded in kind.
According to TMZ (and yes, we checked TMZ, and no, we did not like it), the Baltimore Ravens’ Super Bowl 47 victory over the San Francisco 49ers netted a rating of 48.1/71 — which translates to a rough estimate of 110 million households at the game’s peak viewership.
The ratings just barely surpass those of the Packer-Steelers Super Bowl of two years ago, which netted a 47.9/71 rating. The first number is the rating, expressed as a percentage of households tuning in at any given minute. The second is share, or the number of households out of 100 that have tuned in.
While Beyonce’s show blew the nation away, it just barely missed out on being the highest-rated halftime performance ever. That honor would go to the one and only Madonna. Beyonce’s reunification with Destiny’s Child scored a 48.2/71, while Madonna’s 2012 blowout still reigns supreme at 48.1/72.
[Related: Check out the greatest moments of Beyonce's performance as GIFs]
Here are the top five rated Super Bowls of all time:
1. 48.1/71 – Super Bowl XLVII, Ravens 34-49ers, 31, (CBS)
2. 47.9/71 – Super Bowl XLV, Packers 31-Steelers 25 (Fox)
3. 47.9/68 – Super Bowl XXI, Giants 39-Broncos 20 (CBS)
4. 47.8/71 – Super Bowl XLVI, Giants 21-Patriots 17 (NBC)
5. 47.4/NA – Super Bowl XIV, Steelers 31-Rams 19 (CBS)
But wait, there’s more; TVByTheNumbers did not compare the event with past Super Bowls, but rather how the game’s CBS broadcast stacked up against its rival networks on Sunday night, hour by hour. Needless to say, the divide is impressive.
| Time | Net | Show | 18-49 Rating/Share | Viewers (Millions) |
| 7:00 | CBS | Super Bowl XLVII – Live | 38.5/77 | 108.55 |
| ABC | America’s Funniest Home Videos – R | 0.4/1 | 2.13 | |
| NBC | Betty White’s Off Their Rockers – R | 0.3/1 | 1.40 | |
| FOX | Bob’s Burgers – R | 0.3/1 | 0.74 | |
| 7:30 | CBS | Super Bowl XLVII – Live | 39.4/76 | 110.50 |
| FOX | The Cleveland Show – R | 0.4/1 | 0.96 | |
| NBC | Betty White’s Off Their Rockers – R | 0.3/1 | 1.31 | |
| 8:00 | CBS | Super Bowl XLVII – Live | 36.4/71 | 100.27 |
| FOX | The Simpsons – R | 0.8/1 | 1.91 | |
| ABC | America’s Funniest Home Videos – R | 0.6/1 | 2.59 | |
| NBC | Betty White’s Off Their Rockers – R | 0.5/1 | 1.93 | |
| 8:30 | CBS | Super Bowl XLVII – Live | 34.5/67 | 95.43 |
| FOX | Bob’s Burgers – R | 0.7/1 | 1.74 | |
| NBC | Betty White’s Off Their Rockers – R | 0.5/1 | 1.94 | |
| 9:00 | CBS | Super Bowl XLVII – Live | 34.5/65 | 95.43 |
| FOX | Family Guy – R | 0.9/2 | 1.97 | |
| ABC | Shark Tank – R | 0.6/1 | 1.77 | |
| NBC | Live From New York: The First 5 Years of SNL – R (9-11PM) | 0.5/1 | 1.96 | |
| 9:30 | CBS | Super Bowl XLVII – Live | 35.2/66 | 93.22 |
| FOX | American Dad – R | 0.8/1 | 1.74 | |
| 10:00 | CBS | Super Bowl XLVII – Live | 34.0/66 | 89.25 |
| ABC | Modern Family – R | 0.5/1 | 1.41 | |
| 10:30 | CBS | Super Bowl XLVII/ Post Game – Live | 29.7/62 | 77.03 |
| ABC | Modern Family – R | 0.6/1 | 1.802 |
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