As Super Bowl LIX approached, featuring the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, there was considerable speculation about whether Fox could surpass the all-time viewership record set by CBS last year, which averaged 123.7 million viewers across various platforms. Despite the anticipation, the game’s lopsided nature appeared to jeopardize those hopes. However, Sports Business Journal‘s Austin Karp reported Monday night that Fox successfully broke the record, averaging 126 million viewers across all broadcasts:
BREAKING: even with a blowout, Fox set a Super Bowl viewership record of 126 million viewers for the Eagles-Chiefs matchup (English+Spanish and digital). Passes record of 123.7 million set last year for Chiefs-49ers
— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) February 11, 2025
Michael Mulvihill from Fox later verified this news, sharing a network press release and noting that the figure is a “conservative” estimate, implying that the actual total might be even higher:
Last night’s Eagles rout of the Chiefs will go down as the new most-watched Super Bowl of all time.
FOX conservatively projects 126 million viewers for the game, 131.2m for the halftime and a peak of 135.7m.
Final updated numbers coming from Nielsen in the morning. https://t.co/Y86DBvT0pT
— Michael Mulvihill (@mulvihill79) February 11, 2025
Prior to the event, optimism for Fox’s viewership target was bolstered by Nielsen’s modifications in measurement methodology, which included enhanced Big Data plus panel first-party numbers and comprehensive out-of-home measurement. Additionally, Fox’s decision to stream the game for free on Tubi and NFL digital channels, along with offering two Spanish broadcasts (on Fox Deportes and NBCUniversal’s Telemundo), contributed positively. Notably, Tubi alone attracted an average of 13.6 million viewers.
However, once the game began, the possibility of surpassing CBS’s previous record seemed uncertain due to the apparent imbalance in gameplay. The Eagles dominated, leading 7-0 at the end of the first quarter and 24-0 at halftime, which sparked humorous comparisons to the Alabama Crimson Tide and a quip from ESPN’s Dick Vitale. The final score of 40-22 was arguably lenient to the Chiefs, who managed to score late when the outcome was already apparent.
Despite the game’s outcome, it appears many viewers remained engaged throughout.
