Super Bowl nabs 123.4 million viewers, according to CBS

The Super Bowl on Sunday drew a staggering 123.4 million viewers who watched the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in a nail-biting overtime triumph, according to a statement from CBS Sports.

The game was shown on CBS, the NFL Network, Univision, Paramount+, NFL+ and ViX, a Spanish-language streaming service. Kids could also watch an alternative broadcast on Nickelodeon featuring characters from "SpongeBob SquarePants."

The Super Bowl in 2023, in which the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35, held the previous record, with more than a 115 million total viewers on Fox television networks and digital platforms alongside the league's own platforms.

The massive ratings for Sunday's game were not exactly a surprise. Television industry analysts expected that the game would be a cultural juggernaut, boosted in part by a first-time setting — Las Vegas — and celebrity suite appearances from pop superstar Taylor Swift, who is dating Chief tight end Travis Kelce.

Read more of NBC News' Super Bowl coverage:

• Super Bowl 2024 highlights
• Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl for second year in a row
• Usher joined by Alicia Keys, Lil Jon, Ludacris and more during Super Bowl LVIII halftime show
• Taylor Swift swoops into Vegas for the Super Bowl — and a victory kiss with Travis Kelce

The halftime concert helped drive interest, too. Usher headlined the show at the Allegiant Stadium, where he was joined by special guests: Alicia Keys, Jermaine Dupri, H.E.R., will.i.a.m, Lil John, Ludacris and the Jackson State University marching band, Sonic Boom of the South.

Ahead of the Super Bowl, the NFL playoffs also earned record-breaking ratings. The first three weekends of the NFL post-season averaged 38.5 million viewers,