Sunday night’s Super Bowl showcased a considerable audience, averaging an impressive 127.7 million viewers in the United States through various television and streaming avenues, as Philadelphia triumphed over Kansas City with a score of 40-22.
The event was broadcasted on Fox, Fox Deportes, and Telemundo, with streaming available on Tubi and the NFL’s digital channels.
This viewership marks a 3% increase from the previous year, continuing a trend where the Super Bowl has attracted record audiences for two consecutive years. The prior year’s game, in which the Chiefs defeated San Francisco 25-22 in overtime, saw an average of 123.7 million viewers across CBS, Nickelodeon, Univision, and streaming platforms.
Nielsen’s reports indicate that the peak audience reached 137.7 million during the second quarter, specifically between 8 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. EST.
Part of this growth can be attributed to Nielsen’s new methodology for measuring viewership, which now includes out-of-home viewers from all states except Hawaii and Alaska. Previously, viewership was tracked in the top 44 media markets, covering only about 65% of the U.S.
The updated ratings incorporate data from smart TVs along with traditional cable and satellite boxes.
Unlike recent Super Bowls that were tightly contested, this matchup was decided early, with Philadelphia establishing a commanding 24-0 lead in the first half.
Streaming analytics from Tubi and Adobe reveal that 14.5 million viewers tuned in online, with 13.6 million accessing the game via Tubi, which offered the broadcast for free.
Meanwhile, the Spanish-language broadcasts on Telemundo and Fox Deportes averaged 1.87 million viewers. The Super Bowl has been aired in Spanish in the U.S. since 2014.
Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance also captured significant attention, averaging 133.5 million viewers—marking it the most-watched halftime show in history and a 3% uptick from Usher’s performance last year, which drew 129.3 million viewers.
Among the notable attendees were Donald Trump and Taylor Swift. Trump made history as the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl, while Swift’s relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has further engaged her fans in the NFL realm.
This year’s Super Bowl marks the third consecutive occasion where the event has garnered over 100 million television viewers. This follows a period when four out of five games prior to 2023 fell below that threshold due to the trend of declining cable subscriptions. The 2021 Super Bowl, for instance, recorded only 95.2 million viewers, representing the lowest television-only average since 2007.
In terms of audience statistics, the NFL playoffs averaged 35.2 million viewers over the first three weekends, reflecting a 9% drop from the record-high 38.5 million viewers of the previous year.
This decline follows a regular season that boasted an average of 17.5 million viewers, which, despite being the sixth-highest average since 1995, still marked a 2% decrease from 2023.
