Even in an emphatic rout for the Eagles, Super Bowl LIX made U.S. television history.
The game, won by Philadelphia over Kansas City 40-22, drew an average audience of 126 million on Fox, according to initial projections. The figure beat last year’s Super Bowl by 2% and set a new mark as the most-watched event ever on U.S. television.
The unprecedented figure defied normal viewership trends in a blowout game such as this, which typically would show a sizable reduction in viewers in the latter portion of the competition. Super Bowl LIX, however, featured two popular teams (the Eagles and Chiefs), numerous pop culture intersections highlighted by music superstars Taylor Swift and halftime entertainment Kendrick Lamar, and an appearance by U.S. President Donald Trump that was the first to the NFL title game by a sitting commander-in-chief.
Additionally, the game was an early debut of a newly expanded measurement methodology from Nielsen that included better counting of out-of-home audiences critical to an event such as this.
The game audience peaked in the second quarter with a figure of 135.7 million.
The initial figures released by Fox late Monday were fast nationals from Nielsen, along with internal online metrics. The network’s Tubi streaming service, which typically does not show live sports, drew an audience of 13.6 million. That online audience—reaching 14.5 million when also including NFL digital properties and well above pregame expectations—was undoubtedly a key difference-maker in helping establish the new record.
Final audience figures for the game are expected Tuesday.
Super Bowl LIX was also a rather emphatic end to the 2024 season for the NFL that included a strong viewership number for the AFC championship games, but otherwise showed declines in the divisional playoff round, wild-card games, and regular season.
As is the case each year, the Super Bowl also reaffirmed the NFL’s status as the most-watched programming in U.S. television, regardless of genre.
