Eagles-Patriots Super Bowl watched by fewer people
— -- Super Bowl LII turned into one of the more memorable games, but fewer Americans were watching.
The Philadelphia Eagles'?41-33 victory over the New England Patriots?on Sunday night was watched by an average of 103.4 million people on television, according to Nielsen, the lowest viewership of a Super Bowl since Super Bowl XLIII ( Pittsburgh Steelers?versus? Arizona Cardinals, 98.7 million) in February 2009.
The 103.4 million audience is topped by the past eight Super Bowls and the 1983 Finale of M*A*S*H* (106 million viewers).
"With an all-time Top 10 audience, the Super Bowl once again proved that it's the most dominant and consistent property on television," Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBC broadcasting and sports, said in a news release.
The game featured the Patriots trying to win their sixth ring in 16 years and the Eagles trying to win their first Super Bowl ever.
The viewership marked a 20 percent increase from the last time the two teams played in the Super Bowl (XXXIX, 86 million viewers) in 2005.
The Patriots played in the most watched game, and broadcast in U.S. history, which was Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks in 2015. The Patriots also played in the fourth (XLVI, New York Giants, 2012) and fifth (LI, Atlanta Falcons, 2017) most watched broadcasts of all time.
Buffalo had the highest percentage of viewers, with 56.4 percent of the market watching the game, followed by Philadelphia (56.2 percent), Boston (55.9) and the host market of Minneapolis-St.Paul (54.9).
