2026 Super Bowl scores 124.9 million viewers, second-largest audience in history

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Defense wins championships and Super Bowl LX showed it can get ratings too.

The Seattle Seahawks’ 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots on NBC Sunday drew an average of 124.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen. While a large audience, it didn’t quite reach the record of 127.7 million set by last year’s game on Fox.

As a huge football fan, I really appreciated how completely Seattle shut down New England’s offense at the game in Santa Clara. It was a defensive masterclass! While the serious fans were loving that, I think the buzz around Bad Bunny’s halftime show definitely brought in a lot of other viewers too – it was a big talking point, for sure.

As a huge fan of live performances, I was blown away by Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show! It actually drew in more viewers – averaging 128.2 million – than the game itself! The show happened right after the second quarter, when things were still really competitive, and at its peak, a whopping 137.8 million people were watching. It was a moment, honestly!

The NFL’s choice of Bad Bunny to perform at their annual event sparked criticism from conservative commentators, who opposed having an artist sing in Spanish at such a prominent American sporting event. Bad Bunny has also publicly criticized the Trump administration’s policies on immigration. He even avoided touring in the continental U.S. recently, expressing concern that his fans might be targeted by immigration authorities.

Turning Point USA, a conservative activist group, hosted a separate halftime show on YouTube that unexpectedly drew over 6 million viewers, despite the event’s details only being announced shortly before the game. The concert, which included Kid Rock and other up-and-coming country musicians, didn’t receive much positive feedback on social media.

The number of people attending proved that a popular musical performance could draw a large crowd, even with a game already in progress.

Sports

NFL viewership has been strong all season, which is encouraging news for the game between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots this Sunday.

According to an executive from a competing network who wished to remain anonymous, more musical acts should intentionally schedule performances at the same time as the Super Bowl halftime show – but not as a form of protest. They suggested it would be a clever publicity move for a streaming service like HBO Max, or any company that doesn’t broadcast NFL games.

Nielsen enhanced how it tracks TV viewing on internet connections and set-top boxes, which led to higher NFL ratings all season long. This improvement likely contributed to the strong viewership numbers for Super Bowl LVI, as the new data started being included in ratings back in September.

An additional 3.3 million people tuned in to watch the game on Telemundo’s Spanish-language broadcast. NBC reported record viewership for its streaming service, Peacock, but didn’t share specific numbers.

The Super Bowl game completely sold out its advertising slots, averaging $8 million for every 30-second commercial, and some even reached $10 million. Budweiser’s “American Icons” ad was named the favorite by USA Today’s annual “Ad Meter” panel.

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2026-02-11 03:31