Super Bowl Viewership Falls Short of Records

Bad Bunny's halftime show also fails to set new high mark

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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Sunday night's Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots averaged 124.9 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, NBC Sports Digital, and NFL+, according to Nielsen data. This fell short of the record 127.7 million viewers who tuned in for last year's Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs on Fox.

Why it matters

The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched television events of the year, and viewership numbers are closely watched as an indicator of the sport's popularity. While this year's game fell just short of the all-time record, it still ranks as the second most-watched Super Bowl ever, demonstrating the continued massive appeal of the NFL's championship game.

The details

In addition to the overall viewership falling short of the record, Bad Bunny's halftime show performance also failed to set a new high mark for that portion of the broadcast. The Latin music star's show was the fourth most-watched halftime performance, behind recent shows by The Weeknd, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, and Maroon 5.

  • The Super Bowl took place on Sunday, February 11, 2026.
  • Last year's Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs was held on February 12, 2025.

The players

Seattle Seahawks

The National Football League team that won the 2026 Super Bowl.

New England Patriots

The National Football League team that lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the 2026 Super Bowl.

Philadelphia Eagles

The National Football League team that won the 2025 Super Bowl.

Kansas City Chiefs

The National Football League team that lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2025 Super Bowl.

Bad Bunny

The Latin music star who performed during the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show.

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The takeaway

While this year's Super Bowl viewership fell just short of the all-time record, it remains one of the most-watched television events, demonstrating the continued massive appeal of the NFL's championship game. The halftime show performance by Bad Bunny also fell short of setting a new high mark, though it was still the fourth most-watched in recent history.