Commentary about Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show is all over the internet, so how popular was it, really?
Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny headlined the Super Bowl 60 show on Sunday, Feb. 8, with a high-production concert that celebrated Puerto Rico and featured special appearances by Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin and more.
The six-time Grammy winner faced backlash from some conservatives ahead of his Super Bowl performance. Critics called him “Trump hater” and “un-American,” leading Turning Point USA, an organization founded by late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, to host an alternate performance titled the “All-American Halftime Show.”
So, how many people tuned into Bad Bunny’s performance? What about Turning Point USA’s show? Here’s what we know so far:
How many people watched the Bad Bunny halftime show?
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show averaged 128.2 million viewers from 8:15-8:30 p.m. ET in the United States, NBC Sports reported Tuesday evening.
The show is the fourth most-watched halftime performance in Super Bowl history, according to ESPN. Last year, rapper Kendrick Lamar had the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show ever, with 133.5 million viewers, per Billboard. This is followed by Michael Jackson (133.4 million, 1993) and Usher (129.3 million, 2024), ESPN reported.
Apple Music reported that Thursday’s Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Press Conference with Bad Bunny was the most-watched in Super Bowl history. The Show Set List playlist also became the most-played set list on Apple Music in the hours after the performance, NBC Sports revealed.
How many people watched the Turning Point halftime show?
The “All-American Halftime Show” drew as many as 6.1 million concurrent viewers on Turning Point USA’s YouTube Channel, The Athletic reported. The countershow ended later than Bad Bunny’s performance, but USA TODAY reported it drew around 5 million viewers on YouTube during the head-to-head window. The performance was also broadcast on Christian network TBN. The Enquirer reached out to TBN for viewership totals on the channel. The event was originally intended to be streamed on TPUSA’s X page, but the group said that “licensing restrictions” prevented this, USA TODAY reported. The show featured performances by Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett.
How many people watched the Super Bowl?
An average of 124.9 million viewers watched Super Bowl 60 on Sunday, Nielsen Media Research reported Monday evening. This makes Super Bowl 60 the second most-watched Super Bowl in history, only behind Super Bowl 59, when 127.7 million viewers watched the matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Before this year, Super Bowl viewership had an upward trend over the last five years. Here’s the Nielsen numbers from the last six Super Bowls:
Peak viewership sets all-time TV record
Super Bowl 60 did break a different record, though. Viewership peaked at 137.8 million viewers during the second quarter. This sets a new record for the most viewers tuned in at once in TV history, according to NBC Sports.
USA TODAY reporter Ayrton Ostly contributed to this report.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bad Bunny vs. Turning Point halftime show viewership. What we know
Reporting by Bebe Hodges, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
