Super Bowl XLVIII ratings far down from 2013; blame the Seahawks (and the Broncos)

The first ratings have come in for Super Bowl XLVIII, and it is news that may actually be both surprising and unsurprising at the same exact time.

Let’s start things off here with the former: With a 47.6 household rating and a 70 share, the big game was down in both measures from last year. As a matter of fact, these are the lowest overnight ratings for the Super Bowl since 2010. When you consider that the game between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks was basically over moments after the opening kickoff of the second half, this should not be much of a surprise at all that some people decided to stop watching. (Denver, for example, was not even one of the top 5 markets in the overnight numbers.)

However, what is somewhat interesting still here is that at least when it comes to this measurement is that this still ranks as the fifth-most-watched Super Bowl ever in overnight ratings. Clearly, that means that there are a good many Americans out there who are watching more for the commercials and the spectacle, and really don’t care that much one way or another as to who is winning the game or by that much.

Update: The big game drew a 34.4 rating, which is down from the 39.7 rating from last year. However, last year was a much closer game, and had the benefit of not having the ratings during the blackout counted.