Kansas City Chiefs' wide reciever Mecole Hardman holds the trophy after winning Super Bowl LVIII. Photo: AFP / PATRICK T. FALLON
The Kansas City Chiefs victory over the San Francisco 49ers was the most-watched Super Bowl ever.
Roughly 123.4 million people tuned in on TV and streaming platforms according to preliminary Nielsen ratings released by CBS on Monday.
Those viewers tuned in to see Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs win a third Super Bowl in five years, becoming the first team to go back-to-back since the 2005 New England Patriots.
The Chiefs overcame a 10-0 first-half deficit to prevail 25-22 with just three seconds remaining in overtime.
The game was the longest in Super Bowl history.
This year's blockbuster half-time show featured a performance from eight-time Grammy winner Usher, with Alicia Keys also making an appearance.
Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images / AFP
Of course, there was also the presence of Taylor Swift, who has been credited with boosting interest in this year's game in an entirely new audience due to her relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
The audience for the National Football League championship grew from last year when the game drew a record 115.1 million viewers, according to CBS.
The figure includes people who watched the contest on the CBS or Nickelodeon channels, via streaming services such as Paramount+ and NFL+.
It does not include viewers who watched in places such as bars and restaurants.
Taylor Swift, rapper Ice Spice and actor Blake Lively at the Super Bowl LVIII. Photo: EZRA SHAW
CBS said final Nielsen data will be available on Tuesday (local time).
The Super Bowl regularly tops the ratings on US television, with 29 of the top 30 most watched events in American television history being the NFL's deciding match.
This story was originally published by the ABC.
