This past Sunday, the NFL's championship showdown and one of the biggest North American entertainment spectacles, Super Bowl LIX, took center stage in New Orleans. The Kansas City Chiefs faced off against the Philadelphia Eagles in a high-stakes battle that captivated millions across TV channels, livestreaming platforms, and in person at Caesars Superdome. On platforms like Twitch and YouTube, the event amassed viewership figures that rivaled the combined audience of WWE Royal Rumble and the 67th Grammy Awards.
The iconic Superdome hosted the NFL/AFL finale for a record eighth time, drawing a star-studded crowd. Among the attendees were Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, Lionel Messi, and President Donald Trump.
Despite being favorites and chasing a historic three-peat, the Chiefs couldn’t withstand the Eagles’ dominance. Philadelphia controlled three of the four quarters, sealing a commanding 40-22 victory: a sweet revenge for their defeat two years ago.
Fox led the broadcasting efforts, with regional rights secured by networks including ESPN across the Americas, as well as regional partners in Asia, Europe and Middle East. Although there was no official free global livestream, independent streamers and news outlets kept fans engaged with watch parties (which didn’t include the official video feed), IRL streams, and live pre-game and halftime coverage.
Super Bowl LIX viewership in livestreaming
The event-related broadcasts amassed over 3.4 million hours of watch time, with more than 7,600 channels participating in coverage on freely accessible platforms like Twitch, YouTube Live, Kick. To put things into perspective, this impressive outcome was over 60% higher than the total viewership of LTA North, the premier League of Legends tournament in North America.
When compared to more relevant flagship U.S. events, the Super Bowl came out on top, beating two major entertainment spectacles from last week, the 67th Grammy Awards and WWE Royal Rumble 2025. Combined, these events drew just slightly more, with 3.78 million Hours Watched (HW), despite the Grammys being freely streamed on its official YouTube channel.
The majority of Super Bowl viewership was predictably concentrated on two key platforms: YouTube Live accounted for over 77% of the audience, while Twitch captured just under 17%. English-speaking viewers made up a dominant 90% of the demographic, with most hailing from the U.S., followed by seven percent from Spanish-speaking audiences across the Americas.
What’s interesting is that despite Turkish broadcasts having a minimal impact on the overall viewership landscape, Turkish streamer Hasan Arda Kaşıkcı stood out as one of the top five influencers covering the event, peaking at over 13,700 viewers.
Darren "IShowSpeed" Jason Watkins Jr. claimed the largest audience among all channels covering the event: 148,700+ viewers. He attended alongside fellow streamers, including Kai Cenat. The creators added a fun twist to their coverage with a charity football match, where Speed’s team secured a narrow 30:29 victory.
FOX Sports unsurprisingly claimed the top spot among news channels, broadcasting both the pre-game and halftime performances. During the halftime show, as the artists performed, the channel’s audience quickly spiked to 146,900 viewers.
The artist's performances certainly deserve a mention of their own. This year, Kendrick Lamar took the stage during the halftime show, just one week after claiming five Grammy Awards for his Drake-diss track "Not Like Us." A major point of intrigue was whether he would perform the song at one of the biggest events in American entertainment. The buzz around his performance was so enormous that social media even joked about how the timing of “some sports event” perfectly coincided with Kendrick’s concert. In the end, Kendrick did perform the song, and mentions of him in Twitch chats were twice as high as Usher’s, who headlined the event last year.
Interestingly, although Super Bowl 2025 generated plenty of intrigue, it attracted slightly less attention from Twitch audiences than the previous year. Between January and early February, about 81,800 people discussed it, marking a 24% decrease compared to 2024. However, it’s important to remember that the excitement surrounding last year’s event was arguably even greater, as it became the second most-watched event in American TV history.
Super Bowl LIX not only solidified its place as a monumental event in American sports but also demonstrated the growing influence of livestreaming across platforms like Twitch and YouTube. The combination of high-profile athletes, musicians, and influencers made it a must-watch for millions worldwide, while the growing engagement on streaming platforms highlights the continued shift toward digital consumption in major sporting events.
