Super Bowl 59 attracts a record 127.7 million spectators

The NFL championship game drew a record 127.7 million viewers on Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The large live viewership was most important to the marketers who paid a lot of money to have their brands highlighted during the Super Bowl. It is unusual for live TV programming to draw such a large audience in one session, justifying the high price.

The expense of advertising during the Super Bowl grows year after year, particularly as the cable bundle loses more and more customers and must-see content concentrates around sports and live events. This year, some sponsors paid up to $8 million for a spot in the game.

Fox announced Wednesday that the Super Bowl on its broadcast network and Tubi produced more than $800 million in total revenue from advertising sales across all platforms. GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, estimates that the 2024 Super Bowl generated approximately $550 million in ad revenue for in-game spots.

According to Fox, the Super Bowl set yet another streaming record. According to Tubi first-party data and Adobe Analytics, the game drew 14.5 million viewers across Tubi, Telemundo, and the NFL’s digital offerings, with Tubi alone drawing 13.6 million. This was the first time the app included the Super Bowl.

The halftime show, hosted by rapper Kendrick Lamar and featuring R&B artist SZA, drew an average of 133.5 million people across TV and digital platforms between 8:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. ET, a 3% increase over last year’s viewing, Nielsen stated.

According to Fox, the combined average audience for the Spanish-language networks Fox Deportes and Telemundo was 1.87 million. This was the first time the Super Bowl was televised in Spanish by both a cable network and a broadcaster. The league has been working hard to grow its audience, and Hispanic viewers are an important element of that approach.