:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71946468/1290434350.0.jpg "Super Bowl TV ratings: Which game is the most-watched Super Bowl in NFL history?")
The Super Bowl is easily the biggest televised event in the United States, drawing some of the biggest numbers year after year. In fact, if you look at a list of the top 30 most-watched televised events in American history, the Super Bowl occupies 29 of those spots dating all the way back to 1986. With Super Bowl LVII getting underway shortly, we're taking a look at the most-watched Super Bowl of all time.
Not only is SB XLIX at the top of the list of most-watched Super Bowls, but it also ranks as the most-watched televised broadcast of all time in the United States. This particular game was between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. It marked the beginning of a run that saw the Patriots end up in the Super Bowl four times in a span of five years (2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019), winning three of those four games.
The 2015 Super Bowl is widely regarded as one of the most entertaining games of all time. The Seahawks, the defending champions at the time after defeating the Broncos in XLVIII, were just seconds away from their second straight Super Bowl championship.
Trailing 28-24, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson elected to throw a slant pass over the middle instead of handing the ball off to running back Marshawn Lynch at the one-yard line on second and goal. The pass was picked off by Malcolm Butler at the goal line, securing the win for Tom Brady and the Patriots as they won their fifth Super Bowl title.
That game surpassed the viewership from the previous year in Super Bowl XLVIII, which drew 112.2 million viewers and still stands as the second-most watched Super Bowl in history.