Down-to-the-wire Super Bowl draws game's second-largest audience, Nielsen says

LOS ANGELES :Sunday's Super Bowl attracted an average of 113 million viewers on U.S. television and digital platforms, the second-highest audience in the history of the National Football League's championship game, the Nielsen ratings agency said on Tuesday.

This year's matchup featured injured quarterback Patrick Mahomes leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a come-from-behind 38-35 victory in the final seconds over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Nielsen's figure includes people who watched on the Fox or Fox Deportes TV networks or streamed the game on Fox digital properties or NFL+.

The Super Bowl draws the biggest audience on U.S. television each year. The most-watched Super Bowl took place in 2015, when an average of 114.8 million people watched the New England Patriots defeat the Seattle Seahawks.

Viewership rose roughly 11 per cent from last year, when Nielsen reported an audience of 101 million people.

Fox said the audience increased during the halftime show starring pop and R&B superstar Rihanna, averaging 118 million people on TV and digital platforms.