11.30pm kick-off saw 1.3 million tune in to BBC1

NFL

1.3 million tuned in to BBC1 to see Super Bowl LVI kick off at 11.30pm on Sunday, 13 February, beating the 2021 peak of its coverage. 

Last year, the broadcaster saw 1.2 million watching at midnight on 7 February, after an 11.30pm start, to see Tom Brady pick up his seventh and final Super Bowl ring as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9. Brady retired this year after his side were defeated in the play-offs.

For 2022, the LA Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in the showpiece event, taking home its first Super Bowl since the franchise returned to Los Angeles in 2015. 

The NFL has been reporting growing viewing figures in the UK, claiming that, overall, four million tuned into the Super Bowl last year on the BBC and Sky for 2021. In addition, a million viewers-a-week have been drawn to the BBC’s NFL Show on linear and digital.

Broadcast Sport spoke to the NFL’s managing director for international media, Sameer Pabari, last year about how the organisation’s broadcast strategy is aiming to grow the sport on this side of the pond.