The Philadelphia Eagles weren’t the only big winners at the Super Bowl. The National Football League’s championship game drew a record-breaking 127.7 million viewers on Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research.
This massive live audience was particularly valuable to advertisers who invested heavily to showcase their brands during the event. Live television rarely attracts such a large audience in one sitting, making the high price of Super Bowl ads worthwhile, advertising industry executives recently told CNBC.
The cost of Super Bowl advertising continues to rise each year, especially as cable TV loses subscribers and must-watch content increasingly revolves around sports and live events. This year, some brands spent as much as $8 million for a commercial slot during the game.
Sunday’s Super Bowl was broadcast on Fox Corporation’s network, as well as its Spanish-language cable channel Fox Deportes and NBCUniversal’s Telemundo. Fox also made the game available on its free, ad-supported streaming service Tubi, and it was accessible through the NFL’s digital platforms.
On Wednesday, Fox announced that advertising revenue from its broadcast network and Tubi exceeded $800 million across all platforms. According to GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, the 2024 Super Bowl generated approximately $550 million in ad revenue from in-game placements alone.
“The clear winners Sunday night were the Eagles, the NFL, and FOX. Congratulations to our teams at FOX Sports and Tubi for a record-breaking and historic Super Bowl LIX, the most-watched, most-streamed, and most successful Super Bowl ever,” said Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch in a statement on Wednesday.
Super Bowl 59 (Photo: AP)The previous Super Bowl had set a viewership record at the time, drawing over 123 million viewers across Paramount Global’s CBS network, TelevisaUnivision, and streaming options such as Paramount+.
Fox also reported a new milestone in Super Bowl streaming. The game, available on Tubi, Telemundo, and the NFL’s digital platforms, attracted 14.5 million viewers, with Tubi alone accounting for 13.6 million, according to first-party data from Tubi and Adobe Analytics. This marked the first time the Super Bowl was available on the streaming app.
Viewership for the game peaked at 137.7 million between 8 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. ET, during the second quarter, according to Nielsen. Pre-game anticipation contributed to strong ratings as well. Fox’s pregame coverage averaged 23.4 million viewers between 1 p.m. and kickoff.
The Eagles dominated the Kansas City Chiefs, securing a 40-22 victory. While games with a significant score gap often see declining viewership, audiences remained engaged throughout the matchup.
The halftime show, featuring rapper Kendrick Lamar and R&B artist SZA, averaged 133.5 million viewers across television and digital platforms between 8:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. ET. This represented a 3% increase from last year’s Super Bowl halftime show, according to Nielsen.
Spanish-language networks Fox Deportes and Telemundo recorded a combined audience of 1.87 million viewers, according to Fox. This was the first time the Super Bowl was broadcast in Spanish on both a cable network and a major broadcaster. Expanding Hispanic viewership remains a key component of the NFL’s strategy to grow its audience.
