NBC Sports’ presentation of Super Bowl LX has rewritten the U.S. television record books, with a peak audience of 137.8 million viewers tuning in during the second quarter as the Seattle Seahawks led the New England Patriots 6–0 — the highest peak viewership in American TV history.
The Seahawks’ 29–13 victory over the Patriots averaged 124.9 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, NBC Sports Digital and NFL+, according to official live + same day Nielsen Big Data + Panel figures. The game now ranks as the second most-watched programme in U.S. history, behind Super Bowl LIX on FOX in February 2025.
For NBCUniversal, which marks 100 years of NBC in 2026, the event stands as the most-watched show in the company’s history.
“The Super Bowl and the NFL once again delivered a blockbuster audience across the NBC broadcast network, Peacock and Telemundo, and provided an unprecedented lead-in to our Primetime in Milan coverage,” said Rick Cordella, President of NBC Sports. “The Super Bowl and the Olympics are the two most powerful events in the world.”
The global reach of the NFL’s showpiece event was also evident in Ireland, where the game was broadcast live on Virgin Media Television and Sky Sports, underlining the continued strength of American football’s audience outside the United States.
Spanish-Language and Digital Records
Telemundo delivered the most-watched Super Bowl in U.S. Spanish-language television history, averaging 3.3 million viewers and peaking at 4.8 million during the halftime show.
The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, headlined by Bad Bunny, averaged 128.2 million viewers in the United States alone and drove extraordinary digital engagement. Total social media consumption reached four billion views within 24 hours — a 137% year-on-year increase — with more than 55% of all NFL halftime social views coming from international markets.
Three clips from the performance now rank as the most-viewed posts in NFL social history, with a combined viewing time exceeding 115 years across platforms. Notably, 91% of TikTok viewers for one of the top clips were under 35, reinforcing the NFL’s ability to capture younger global audiences.
On Apple Music, streams of Bad Bunny’s catalogue increased sevenfold immediately after the performance, while his album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS entered the charts in 155 countries the following day, reaching number one in 46.
Olympics Boost and Streaming Surge
The broadcast also provided a powerful lead-in to NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Sunday’s “Primetime in Milan” presentation averaged 42 million viewers, marking the company’s largest Winter Games audience since Day 2 of the 2014 Sochi Olympics and a 73% increase on the comparable Beijing 2022 broadcast following Super Bowl LVI.
Peacock recorded its best day ever in both reach and hours streamed, highlighting the growing importance of streaming platforms within the NFL’s distribution strategy.
Commercial Impact
From a commercial perspective, NBCUniversal reported that compared to competitive NFL broadcasts across the regular season and playoffs, Super Bowl LX delivered a 33% lift in brand recall and a 31% lift in brand opinion for sponsors.
NFL programming continues to dominate the U.S. television landscape, accounting for 86 of the top 100 most-watched shows during the 2025 calendar year — reinforcing its status as the most valuable content property in global sport and entertainment.Upcoming Events
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