When “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” aired in February 1983, it set a mark that stood for decades. Nearly 106 million people watched the MAS*H finale, and for a long time that figure was the benchmark for what a television audience could be.
Records like that don’t hold forever. Over the last few years, the biggest broadcasts in the country have almost all been Super Bowls, and the numbers keep moving as Nielsen changes how it counts. Here are eight of the biggest audiences on record, starting with the current leader.
Super Bowl LIX on Fox (2025)
Super Bowl LIX became the most watched broadcast in American television history, with an average of 127.7 million viewers in the United States. It broke the record set by the previous year’s game.
Streaming was a real part of that total. An average of 14.5 million viewers came from streaming platforms. That is a sign of how the definition of a TV audience has widened.
Super Bowl LX on NBC (2026)
NBC’s February 2026 telecast of the Seahawks and Patriots first reported an average of 124.9 million viewers. Nielsen later updated the figure to 125.6 million viewers across NBC, Telemundo, NBC Sports Digital and NFL+. That keeps it in second place, just behind the 2025 game.
The game also set a different kind of record. Viewership peaked in the second quarter at an average of 137.8 million, the highest peak in U.S. TV history. It was also the first Super Bowl reported with Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel methodology, which was rolled out in September 2025.
Super Bowl LVIII on CBS (2024)
CBS aired the Chiefs’ overtime win over the 49ers in February 2024. The broadcast drew 123.4 million average viewers across all platforms, including CBS, Paramount+, Nickelodeon and Univision. At the time, that made it the most watched program ever.
The game’s reach went beyond the average. Overall, 202.4 million viewers watched at least part of the broadcast, the highest unduplicated total audience in history. Of the total, 120 million watched live on CBS, the largest audience ever for an event on a single TV network.
Super Bowl LVII on Fox (2023)
The Chiefs beat the Eagles 38 to 35 in February 2023, and the audience figure changed after the fact. Nielsen first put the total at 113 million, which made it the third most watched Super Bowl. A later review changed that.
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The game officially became the most watched telecast in U.S. history with 115.1 million viewers. Fox said the change came from a Nielsen review that found irregularities in encoding and in out of home measurement. It is a reminder that these rankings are estimates that can be revised.
Super Bowl XLIX on NBC (2015)
The Patriots’ 28 to 24 win over the Seahawks in February 2015 was NBC’s big night, and it held the top spot for years. That game had held the viewership record with 114.4 million people watching. It lost the title only when Nielsen adjusted the 2023 numbers.
The finish helped. The game came down to a goal line interception, one of the most discussed final plays in the sport’s history. Games with tight endings tend to hold audiences until the final whistle, which lifts the average.
Super Bowl LI on Fox (2017)
The Patriots’ comeback against the Falcons in February 2017 went to overtime, a first for the Super Bowl. ESPN.com lists it third all time among Super Bowls in total viewers at one point, with 113.7 million people watching. Newer games have since pushed it further down the list.
Its audience still looks large next to nearly everything else on television. Few events outside the Super Bowl come close to 100 million viewers at all. That gap is why this game still sits among the top entries.
Super Bowl 50 on CBS (2016)
Super Bowl 50 was played in February 2016, with the Denver Broncos beating the Carolina Panthers. CBS reported an average audience of about 111.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen figures at the time. That placed it among the biggest broadcasts ever recorded in the United States.
The milestone anniversary and a halftime show with several big names added to the draw. The audience also showed that a game with a lopsided feel could still bring in a huge crowd. For many viewers, the event matters as much as the score.
The MAS*H Finale on CBS (1983)
“Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” aired on CBS on February 28, 1983, and ran two and a half hours. About 106 million people watched, which was the largest audience in U.S. television history at that point. It held the record for a single broadcast until a Super Bowl surpassed it.
The finale remains the most watched episode of a scripted series in the United States. Viewers in 1983 had only a handful of channels, no streaming and no DVR, so a shared night in front of the TV came easily. Today’s Super Bowl audiences are bigger, but the finale’s audience came from a far smaller pool of viewing options.
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