TV Ratings: Make It 127.7M Viewers For The Big Game

Super Bowl LIX’s final viewership numbers are out, and Fox’s push to broaden access to the game clearly paid off. Initially projected at 126 million, the game ultimately averaged 127.7 million viewers across all platforms—a 3% jump from last year’s 123.7 million and a new record for a single event in U.S. TV history.

Even with the Eagles’ 40–22 rout of the Chiefs, which could’ve led to tune-outs, several factors drove the strong numbers. 

Tubi, Fox’s free streaming service, averaged 13.6 million viewers (per their data), contributing to a record digital audience of 14.5 million. Tubi doesn’t usually stream live sports, but Fox heavily promoted its Super Bowl availability. 

Data: Nielsen; Note: Includes both live TV and streaming; Chart: Axios Visuals

Spanish-language coverage also got a boost through a rare cross-network strategy: Telemundo (owned by NBCUniversal) joined Fox Deportes, drawing a combined 1.87 million viewers—down from 2.3 million on Univision last year, but still notable. The pregame show, starting at 1 p.m. ET, also set a record for its slot with 23.4 million viewers. Nielsen’s new out-of-home audience tracking, especially in rural areas, further padded the totals.

Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show hit 133.5 million viewers, the highest ever for that segment. The game itself peaked at 137.7 million in the second quarter.

Fox said the game peaked in the second quarter between 8pm and 8:15pm ET when 137.7 million people were tuned into the game. Tubi also earned the honors of hitting record-high streaming viewership with an “average minute audience” of 14.5 million viewers, the network said.

Even the halftime show broke records, with Kendrick Lamar’s performance earning an average of 133.5 million viewers thus making it the “most-watched Super Bowl halftime performance in history,” Fox said.

Cable News Super Bowl Sunday (Courtesy of RoadMN)

The Super Bowl’s massive viewership makes it all the more valuable to advertisers trying to reach a mass market. Some companies dished out $8 million to secure a 30-second spot during the big game.

The record ratings shows that NFL is still a magnet for viewers, despite the regular season ratings slightly falling 2% for the year. Football games still regularly out-rate anything else on TV during the year, with streaming services wanting a piece of the action. For the first time, Netflix aired a slate of games on Christmas last year.