Super Bowl Numbers Revised

Morning Edition

February 20, 2026

A data collection error forced Nielsen to revise its Super Bowl LX viewership numbers. The final viewership figure is 125.6 million, up slightly from the prior average of 124.9 million. It’s still 1.6% behind last year’s viewership average of 127.7 million for Super Bowl LIX.

—Eric Fisher

First Up

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Team USA athletes are sporting Nike’s new ACG brand at the Olympics. It’s part of the company’s relaunch of the All Conditions Gear line. Read the story.
The Bears’ search for a new stadium took another step toward Indiana. A state bill that would provide significant public funding for a new stadium passed a vote. Read the story.
WTGL, the women’s golf league counterpart to TGL, plans to launch in November or December, and broadcasters are showing interest. Read the story.

Super Bowl LX Viewership Revised, Still Falls Short of Record

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Viewership numbers for Super Bowl LX were updated after Nielsen said Thursday that there was a prior data collection error.

The measurement agency said the “updated and final” viewership figure for the NFL title game on Feb. 8, won by the Seahawks over the Patriots, is an average of 125.6 million. That’s up slightly from the prior viewership average of 124.9 million that had been reported.

The revised figure, however, still leaves Super Bowl LX 1.6% behind last year’s viewership average of 127.7 million for Super Bowl LIX. NBC Sports, which showed this year’s game, had hopes of setting a new record for the most-watched, single-network broadcast in U.S. television history, though the network didn’t guarantee it. Seattle’s dominant victory, which included just three field goals in the first half, likely depressed viewership somewhat.

Nielsen attributed the viewership revision to “a Big Data provider [that] did not properly collect data from its devices on Feb. 8, which impacted the Big Data + Panel count.”

The game’s peak audience of 137.8 million in the second quarter, which wasn’t updated by Nielsen, is still an industry record.

That enhanced methodology, officially introduced last September, brings in tens of millions of additional data points from set-top boxes and smart TVs. There have been some occasional operational issues as the new system has rolled out, though, and this was the first Super Bowl with Big Data + Panel.

Nielsen hasn’t yet disclosed the findings from a separate pilot test with an expanded co-viewing methodology conducted during Super Bowl LX. That won’t be part of an official viewership figure for Super Bowl LX, but the NFL in particular has been very interested in seeing Nielsen improve in this area.

SPONSORED BY E*TRADE FROM MORGAN STANLEY

Jon Patricof on Building Modern Leagues

In Season 3, Episode 2 of Portfolio Players, presented by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley, Athletes Unlimited CEO and cofounder Jon Patricof breaks down how smart league-building starts with fans and players.

Patricof dives into why women’s sports has reached a cultural inflection point, how athlete partnerships drive value, and why scale is the future of sustainable sports businesses.

👉 Watch the full episode of Portfolio Players now.

FOS on the Olympics

Hockey’s greatest international rivalry played out again Thursday, as the U.S. women’s team beat Canada for the gold in the 2026 Winter Olympics. Read the story.
The IOC is, as usual, strict about copyright issues. A spokesperson says it has an automated monitoring system in place to protect its media-rights holders. Read the story.
Drones have been part of Olympic coverage for more than a decade. But Milan Cortina marks the first time the technology is being used en masse during the Games. Read the story.
From cheating curlers to hockey player breakup rumors, there’s been no shortage of scandals at the Winter Olympics. Read the story.

ONE BIG FIG

Graffiti Artist Wanted

Jan 4, 2026; Orchard Park, New York, USA; A general view of the new Highmark Stadium prior to the game between the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium.

Democrat and Chronicle

$100,000

The amount being offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the individuals who put graffiti on the new Highmark Stadium. Construction on the Bills’ new stadium was paused after graffiti was discovered in multiple locations. Gilbane-Turner, the construction partners working on the stadium, released a statement Wednesday, saying work will resume on Friday and that the “stadium will be delivered on schedule.”