The final viewership numbers for Super Bowl LIX are in, and it’s now even more clear how much Fox’s strategy to expand access to the game paid off for the network. 

After an initial average audience projection of 126 million for the game, Fox said the game ultimately delivered an average of 127.7 million across all platforms. That figure is 3% higher than last year’s Super Bowl figure of 123.7 million, also adjusted from preliminary estimates, and is a record for a single event in U.S. television history. 

The robust total for Super Bowl LIX, defying typical tune-out trends in a blowout such as the Eagles’ 40–22 win over the Chiefs, was aided by several key factors:

• Historic viewership on Fox’s free streaming service, Tubi, that averaged 13.6 million, according to first-party data—a key part of an overall digital audience of 14.5 million that was the largest in Super Bowl history. Tubi typically does not show live sports, but the network placed a significant emphasis on promoting the availability of Super Bowl LIX on that platform.
• A unique decision to expand Spanish-language coverage of the game on Telemundo, owned by rival NBCUniversal, to supplement broadcasting on Fox Deportes. The two networks combined to average 1.87 million during the game. That figure is down from 2.3 million from last year’s Super Bowl, shown in Spanish on Univision, but the cross-network strategy was nonetheless rare for an event like this.
• A pregame show, starting at 1 p.m. ET, that also drew an event-record audience average of 23.4 million viewers for a game lead-in of that length.
• The game was also an early beneficiary of a newly expanded methodology from Nielsen for counting out-of-home audiences, particularly in harder-to-reach rural areas.

The halftime show featuring Kendrick Lamar, meanwhile, posted an average of 133.5 million, representing the highest such figure ever for the Super Bowl entertainment showcase. The game audience itself peaked in the second quarter at 137.7 million. 

New Strategy for Tubi?

It will now bear watching whether Fox does more with its live sports on Tubi after the historic success of Super Bowl LIX—which by itself posted a higher average audience than many sports events, including championships in the NBA and NHL, do across all platforms.

Before the game, not only did Tubi not offer much live sports, but it also didn’t have as much of a corporate focus for Fox compared to rival streaming services operated by other networks. Rather, Fox had consistently lauded the power of traditional television, even in an age of accelerating cord-cutting across the industry. 

Last week, however, Fox announced plans to create a new direct-to-consumer service, something that will have a clear focus on live sports and news. To what degree that also involves Tubi is a question, but Fox clearly sees the larger audiences now possible through streaming. 

“We do want to reach consumers wherever they are, and there’s a large population, obviously, that are now outside of the traditional cable bundle,” said Fox CEO and executive chair Lachlan Murdoch last week in an earnings call with analysts. “We are designing an offering to really target those cord-cutters and cord-nevers.”

The NFL’s coaching carousel has officially come to a halt, with the Saints announcing the hire of Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. New Orleans is the seventh and final franchise to name a new head coach this offseason.

Moore interviewed for the job twice during the playoffs—once virtually and once in person—but the Saints had to wait until after his Eagles won Super Bowl LIX to formally sign him. 

Two years ago, the Cardinals were hit with tampering charges surrounding the hire of former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon as their head coach. Arizona had to swap third-round NFL Draft picks with Philadelphia and give up a fifth-round selection.

Despite the formalities, the Eagles were not surprised by Moore’s impending exit. “Unfortunately, we’re gonna have to wish him the very best with New Orleans,” Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said after Sunday’s victory. “Let’s run this shit back, Kellen,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni jokingly said.

Money Moves

Tuesday’s move capped an expensive hiring cycle filled with drama off the field. Here’s a recap of the head coaching hires:

• Bears: Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson
• Cowboys: Promoted offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer
• Jaguars: Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen
• Jets: Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn
• Patriots: Former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel
• Raiders: Former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll
• Saints: Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore

Johnson was the most sought-after candidate and landed a deal reportedly worth $13 million per season with the Bears. Coen’s salary may not be far behind after he spurned the Buccaneers, who had offered to make him the NFL’s highest-paid coordinator.

Carroll’s hiring, which makes him the oldest head coach in the NFL at 73, highlighted Tom Brady’s growing influence as a minority owner of the Raiders, despite his $375 million role as Fox’s No. 1 NFL game analyst.

Schottenheimer’s promotion put an even larger spotlight on the unique coaching hiring strategy of Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones, following Mike McCarthy’s exit after his contract expired.

One Final Puzzle Piece

The Jets, Raiders, and Titans hired new GMs this cycle, and now the only major NFL vacancy is the Jaguars GM position.

Jacksonville fired Trent Baalke ahead of Coen’s hiring, after initially retiring its front office leader when it fired coach Doug Pederson. The Jaguars hired Hall of Fame offensive lineman Tony Boselli as EVP of football operations. Boselli, Coen, and the new GM will all report directly to team owner Shad Khan.

The franchise also extended team president Mark Lamping, who is leading efforts around the $1.4 billion renovations to EverBank Stadium, which will require playing in a temporary venue in 2027.

The Indiana Fever made several offseason moves in the last few weeks, but Caitlin Clark has remained fairly quiet.  

The Fever signed DeWanna Bonner, a six-time All-Star and two-time WNBA champion, and Natasha Howard, a two-time All-Star and three-time champion. The two signed one-year deals worth at least $200,000—slightly below the maximum salary of about $250,000, which is what the Fever paid to re-sign guard Kelsey Mitchell, Clark’s backcourt partner. 

But at Monday’s introductory press conference for Bonner, Clark finally gave her thoughts on the franchise’s offseason moves—and they were overwhelmingly positive.

“We didn’t really have much experience at all playing in playoff games [last year],” Clark said. “Adding pieces, players that have been in this league—they know what it takes to win, they know what it takes to get to the Finals, they know what it takes to win championships—I think it’s exactly what we needed in our locker room.”

Bonner and Howard have played 140 playoff games combined. Before the Fever were swept by Bonner and the Connecticut Sun in the first round last year, their entire roster combined for just 19 total playoff games. 

The 37-year-old Bonner, who played her last two seasons with the Sun under new Fever coach Stephanie White, gave a stamp of approval to the Fever’s young core—which consists of Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Lexie Hull—by saying she still wants to “win another championship.”

Indiana’s offseason work also included announcing plans for a $78 million training center in downtown Indianapolis that will open in 2027—the final year of Clark’s rookie deal that pays her an average salary of $84,517 per year. Clark heaped praise on Pacers Sports & Entertainment, the owner of the Fever and the NBA’s Pacers, for its willingness to invest in a franchise despite being in a relatively small market.

“This is the franchise in all of women’s sports, I say. No matter what sport it is. … I think the next few years are going to be amazing for this franchise, and will continue to be for hopefully ten-plus years and hopefully we win a few championships,” Clark said.