Bad Bunny‘s triumphant, joyful halftime show helped boost Super Bowl LX to the highest peak viewership in U.S. TV history. While Benito didn’t de-throne Kendrick Lamar as the most-watched halftime ever, according to figures released by Nielsen Big Data + Panel on Tuesday (Feb. 10), an estimated 128.2 million viewers tuned in to watch his star-studded performance, the first halftime show to be almost entirely in Spanish.
That makes it one of the most-watched halftime shows in Super Bowl history, coming in at fourth place all-time behind last year’s Kendrick Lamar show (133.5 million viewers), Michael Jackson’s 1993 set (133.4 million viewers) and Usher in 2024 (129.3 million).
In addition, NBC reported that the second half of the game set an all-time media record with 137.8 million viewers, which set a new record for the highest peak viewership in U.S. TV history as the Seahawks expanded their 6-0 halftime lead into a 29-13 blowout.
Overall, Nielsen said that Sunday’s game was the second most-watched Super Bowl ever, just behind last year’s 127.7 million viewers. It was also the most-watched show in the history of NBCUniversal.
While Benito’s performance featuring guests Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin drew ire from many on the right, including President Trump, the set that warmly honored his Puerto Rican roots and ended with the singer shouting “God Bless America!” as he ran through a list of all the countries in the Americas was seen by many as a gesture aimed at spreading love and understanding during a turbulent time in U.S. history. The set ended with the singer holding up a football with the message “Together we are America.”
In a nod to Bad Bunny’s global stardom, NBC also reported that the Telemundo broadcast averaged 3.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched Super Bowl in the U.S. Spanish-language history, with the network’s coverage peaking during halftime with an average of 4.8 million viewers, adding up to the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show in Spanish-language history.
The social media numbers were also in keeping with Benito’s global dominance, with total social consumption — including fans, owned platforms, broadcast partners, influencers and more — setting a record of four billion views after the first 24 hours, a 137% increase year-over-year. In addition, more than half (55%) of all NFL social views came from international markets.
By contrast, Turning Point USA’s “All-American Halftime Show” featuring Kid Rock and a handful of other country singers on a pre-taped livestream attracted 19 million views on YouTube in its first 24 hours, while Bad Bunny’s YT replay had more than 24 million in that time frame on top of the historic traditional TV tune-in. According to The New York Times, as more than 128 million tuned in to the Benito Bowl, around 6.1 million concurrent viewers were tuning in live to the at-times glitchy, out-of-sync “All-American Halftime Show.”
