Study: Super Bowl reached 208 million people with out-of-home viewers factored in

The Super Bowl reached more than 208 million people earlier this month, according to numbers developed by the NFL and Nielsen. The NFL and Nielsen collaborated on a study to more accurately count the Super Bowl’s out-of-home viewership for its total reach. Because of the prevalence of Super Bowl parties, the NFL has long believed that Nielsen’s normal count is too low. Nielsen’s first measurement had the game reaching 167 million -- 41 million less than the new number. Advertisers buy off of what is called an average minute audience. For the Super Bowl, that was 112.3 million. The total reach number generally provides a big number that gives networks and league’s a chance to boast. The new survey consisted of 5,000 homes and was conducted by NORC at the Univ. of Chicago.