It’s official: Super Bowl LIX has set a viewership record, according to Fox Sports, which released the final measurements for the Philadelphia Eagles’ blowout victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. The combined figure reached 127.7 million viewers across several platforms including Fox, Telemundo, Fox Deportes, the Fox Sports App, and Tubi.
However, the record-setting audience isn’t a direct comparison to past Super Bowls, as this season employed Nielsen’s new out-of-home viewing methodology, which now includes the entire country (up from about two-thirds last year). Furthermore, Fox’s numbers incorporate first-party streaming data from Tubi and Adobe Analytics, leading to inflated totals compared to previous years. For example, had last year’s Super Bowl between the Chiefs and 49ers seen a similar enhancement in out-of-home viewing, it would likely have outperformed this year’s event.
Thus, it may be reasonable to label this Super Bowl a RINO (record in name only), similar to how last year’s CBS viewership figures could also be viewed. Super Bowl LI, featuring the New England Patriots’ famous 28-3 comeback against the Atlanta Falcons, remains a contender for the most-watched game in history, overshadowing several earlier Super Bowls before Nielsen began tracking out-of-home viewing.
Despite these considerations, Fox has a compelling narrative regarding this year’s Super Bowl viewership, particularly highlighting the success of Tubi. Fox’s free ad-supported television (FAST) platform recorded 14.5 million viewers, an impressive increase of 27% from last year’s streaming figure on Paramount+. Tubi, the seventh-largest streaming platform in the U.S. by viewership, surpassed familiar names like Peacock, Paramount+, and Max according to Nielsen. This Super Bowl marked the first ever to air in 4K on a FAST platform.
Attracting 14.5 million viewers on a platform typically associated with less prominent sports events is a clear success, exceeding the combined viewership of Games 2 and 3 of last year’s World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers across all platforms.
As Fox plans to enter the streaming market, the successful Tubi broadcast likely boosts confidence in their ability to distribute live sports via streaming. Additional figures indicate that the game’s Spanish-language viewership on Telemundo and Fox Deportes accumulated 1.87 million viewers, a decline from 2.3 million on Univision last year, with the broadcast peaking at 137.7 million viewers during the second quarter (8:00 – 8:15 p.m. ET) and 133.5 million tuning in for Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance.
Considering the lopsided outcome of Sunday’s game and Nielsen’s anticipated methodological adjustments that will further enhance viewership next year, it is likely that NBC’s Super Bowl will set yet another record.
