Last Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX is set to become the most-watched in history, according to Nielsen ratings.
The Philadelphia Eagles’ 44-20 triumphant victory over the Kansas City Chiefs averaged a record audience of 126 million viewers, peaking at 136 million during the second quarter.
This means that Super Bowl LIX is expected to become the most-watched in history, eclipsing the viewership record only set last year when the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers.
Super Bowl LIX’s 126 million average audience is an increase from the 123.7 million people who tuned in last year. Super Bowl viewership has been increasing year-on-year, with the 2023 Super Bowl also setting records with a 115 million average audience, which was again contested by the Eagles and Chiefs.
With FOX as the primary broadcaster for this year’s Super Bowl, the big game increased its reach across both TV and online.
Whilst broadcast on FOX, the broadcast company also made the NFL’s flagship game available to Spanish-speaking audiences on FOX Deportes and Telemundo. Also, for the first time ever, the Super Bowl was available to stream on Tubi, a platform FOX has owned since 2020.
There are multiple factors towards Super Bowl LIX’s record-setting viewership. Firstly, there was intrigue from NFL fans on whether the Chiefs, led by Patrick Mahomes, could win an unprecedented ‘three-peat’ and secure its third consecutive Super Bowl.
Travis Kelce, the legendary tight-end for the Chiefs, was also heavily rumoured to be retiring, with the Super Bowl supposedly being his final game. Kelce was also reportedly going to propose to his girlfriend Taylor Swift, who watched the game in the stands at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
As accustomed with every modern Super Bowl finale, the halftime show would have also garnered a large audience. This year’s performer, Kendrick Lamar, had been embroiled in a rap beef with Drake and many anticipated his number one single ‘Not Like Us’ to be played which includes shots at the Canadian rapper.
If recent Super Bowl ratings are anything to go by, NBC will be hoping to continue the record trajectory when it will be the main broadcaster for Super Bowl LX next year in Santa Clara, California.
