• Loading stock data...
Friday, August 1, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot

Super Bowl Set Viewership Record at 127.7M, Hints at Fox Streaming Future

Blowouts typically don’t set viewership records, but the runaway Super Bowl victory for the Eagles was historic in multiple respects. 

Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jalyx Hunt (58) and linebacker Josh Sweat (19) tackle Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) during the first half of Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome.
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

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.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

NFL Preseason Getting Earliest Kickoff in 25 Years

The Lions and Chargers face off in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.
IndyCar

Fox-IndyCar Deal Marks Yet Another Media Stake in Sports League

Broadcasters keep buying stakes in the leagues they cover and televise.
Mike Repole

Billionaire Mike Repole Taking Ownership Stake in UFL

Repole is the cofounder of Vitaminwater and Body Armor. 

Mayor Calls Commanders RFK Stadium Deal ‘a BFD’ for D.C.’s Future

The NFL team makes a series of additional commitments.

Featured Today

Las Vegas sign

College Sports Embracing Vegas After Years of Cold Shoulder

The Big Ten became the latest newcomer to Sin City.
2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training
July 28, 2025

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.
Limited Hype
July 27, 2025

Sneaker Reselling Was Once Easy Money. Success Is Now Complicated

Vendors need to evolve what they’re selling and how they do it.
HAPPY GILMORE 2. BTS - (L to R) Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore and Rory McIlroy as himself on the set of Happy Gilmore2.
July 26, 2025

‘Cool As Hell’: How ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Hooked Golf’s Top Stars

The process was “cool as hell,” Adam Sandler tells FOS.
Jul 15, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts to the crowd as they take on the Connecticut Sun in the first quarter at TD Garden.

WNBA Viewership Up Across All Networks Compared to 2024

Non-Fever games are up 37% compared to the full 2024 season.
Jul 27, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky guard Kia Nurse (11) drives to the basket against Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) during the second half at United Center.
July 29, 2025

Fever-Sky Draws 1.5M Viewers Despite Clark, Reese Absences

Clark and Reese both missed the game due to injury.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace (23) celebrates winning Sunday, July 27, 2025, the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
July 30, 2025

Amazon, TNT Post Near-Identical NASCAR Ratings in Debut Season

The cable channel is a new media-rights partner this season.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
July 29, 2025

WBD Restructuring Shows What’s Old Is New Again

WBD will become Warner Bros. and Discovery Global as two separate entities.
July 24, 2025

CBS Sports to Get New Owner As Skydance Merger Clears FCC Hurdle

The long-awaited, but highly debated, merger gains regulatory approval.
Dec 7, 2024; New York, New York, USA; A general view of Times Square during the MLS Cup Times Square Watch Party prior to the game between the LA Galaxy and the New York Red Bulls.
July 24, 2025

MLS Reveals Apple TV Streaming Numbers, Raising Questions

The league gives a rare glimpse inside the high-profile streaming pact.
A Peacock sideline reporter holds a microphone with the NBC Peacock logo during Michigan State's football game against Washington on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.
July 24, 2025

‘Unusual’: NBCU’s Surprise Interest in a New Cable Sports Network

Its previous channel NBCSN was shuttered less than four years ago.