Feb. 5 (UPI) — Early ratings for the Philadelphia Eagles‘ win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII were down 3 percent from viewership last year.
The game brought NBC a rating of 47.4, putting it on track to be the lowest-rated telecast for the big football game since 2010.
The number is down from last year’s Super Bowl, which had a rating of 48.4 — and Super Bowl 50 in 2016, which had a 49 percent rating. They each brought in over 111 million viewers.
The top ten metered markets for Super Bowl LII were Buffalo, 56.4; Philadelphia, 56.2; Boston, 55.9; Minneapolis-St. Paul, 54.9; Pittsburgh, 54.9; Norfolk, 53.9; New Orleans, 53.0; Providence, 52.5; Milwaukee, 52.3; Seattle, 52.2 and Kansas City, 52.2.
The National Football League has seen lower viewership in recent years, with anthem protests and concussion and injury worries, potentially hurting the sport’s brand.
NBC aired the last highest rated Super Bowl in 2015, when the Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks with about 114.4 million viewers.
The Eagles beat the Patriots 41-33 on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
