Rapper Kendrick Lamar and Super Bowl LIX (Shutterstock image)
Samba TV: Eagles’ Blowout Win Sees Super Bowl Household TV Views Drop 5%; Kendrick Lamar Halftime Show Down 4%
February 10, 2025
The Philadelphia Eagles’ dominant 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs Feb. 9 in Super Bowl LIX saw 37.1 million U.S. household TV views, down 5% from 39 million during the event last year, according to new data from Samba TV, which tracks viewership through smart data and ranks streaming programs based on U.S. household reach.
The halftime show featuring rapper Kendrick Lamar didn’t fare any better, with 28.8 million U.S. households watching, down 4% from the 30 million households that watched Usher’s performance during the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show.
Indeed, 311,000 U.S. households turned on the TV to only watch the halftime show (skipping the game), down 8%, or 338,000 households, that tuned in for Usher.
Samba said there was a dramatic drop-off in viewership throughout the course of the game as the Eagles ran up the score 34-6. The peak audience was seen during the halftime show, with the percentage of total viewership falling from 100% during the show to 70% at the end of the game. By comparison, last year’s game ended with 89% of the peak audience watching by the end of the game, which wrapped up in overtime with the Chiefs prevailing, 25-22, over the San Francisco 49ers.
The Super Bowl TV audience skewed toward white households (+5% compared to the U.S. overall). However, among households that only watched the halftime show, black households were 25% more likely to watch (compared to the rest of the U.S.). For the game itself, black households under-indexed by 6%.
Across the top 25 designated market areas (plus Kansas City), Pittsburgh over-indexed by the highest margin (+20%), followed by Boston (+14%), and Minneapolis (+13%). Notably, these big football cities outpaced both Kansas City (+11%) and Philadelphia (+9%).
Nike was the most-watched brand ad of the Super Bowl that aired nationally (outside of Fox, Fox-affiliated brands, and the NFL), reaching 28.1 million households, followed by the Novartis ad, and the RAM ad (both of which reached around 28 million households).
“Apple Music’s halftime show once again proved its star power. … Despite viewership being down, its ability to draw in younger and more diverse audiences make it a can’t-miss spectacle,” Samba CEO Navin said in a statement.
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