RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – Perhaps it was Russell Wilson’s close ties to Central Virginia, or Michael Robinson’s friends and family not wanting to miss any of the action, but the blowout that was Sunday’s Super Bowl XLVIII did not seem impact the game’s Richmond ratings.
Wilson, the Collegiate School graduate, lead the Seattle Seahawks over Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. The game was never in doubt. The final score 43 – 8.
Despite Wilson and former Varina High School quarterback Robinson’s close ties to Central Virginia, Sunday’s game was NOT the highest rated Super Bowl in recent Richmond history.
Hey, it’s the Super Bowl, it’s the most watch television event of the year, regardless of who is playing, so the rating the game receives is always big news.
A Nielsen estimated 285,000 Central Virginia households (out of 555,000) watched Sunday’s Super Bowl earning it a 51 rating/71 share in Central Virginia. That means 71 percent of all televisions turned on in Central Virginia Sunday night were watching the Super Bowl.
At it’s peak, about 8:45 p.m., the game got a 54 rating/74 share.
The game started with a 45 rating/65 share and steadily climbed to 8:45 p.m.
Even after Seattle put the game away with a touchdown on the second half kick-off return, the rating never fell below 50.
So how does that compare to recent Richmond Super Bowl ratings?
Let’s check:
- 2014 – Seahawks vs. Broncos – 285,000 households – 51 rating/71 share
- 2013 – Ravens vs. 49ers – 299 households — 54 rating/75 share*
- 2012 – Giants vs. Patriots – 287,000 households — 51 rating/70 share
- 2011 – Steelers vs. Packers – 274,000 households — 49 rating/70 share
- 2010 – Saints vs. Colts – 278,000 households — 50 rating/65 share
- 2009 – Steelers vs. Cardinals – 271,000 households — 49 rating/67 share
- 2008 – Giants vs. Patriots – 251,000 households 48 rating/63 share
*average of pre-power outage and post- power outage
We wish we could compare last night’s Super Bowl rating to the last time the Washington Redskins played for the title but, it’s been a while.
