Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show, affectionately dubbed “Benito Bowl” by fans, averaged 128.2 million viewers on Sunday.
That’s more than the 124.9 million viewers averaged for this year’s entire Super Bowl, as measured by Nielsen, but behind last year’s record-setting Kendrick Lamar’s 133.5 million viewers. Before Lamar, the record was held by Usher’s 2024 performance.
According to Ripple Analytics, the halftime show’s total social consumption, including fans, owned platforms, broadcast partners, and influencers, reached 4 billion views after 24 hours (a 137% increase over last year).
Additionally, the top three most-viewed social posts of all time in the NFL currently come from Bad Bunny’s halftime show. At the end of his performance, Bad Bunny listed the countries of the Americas before spiking soccer (168 million views on Instagram), and did the same clip on TikTok (100 million views).
According to Apple Music, listening to Bad Bunny’s music increased seven times after the halftime show, led by “DtMF,” “BAILE INoLVIDABLE,” and “Tití Me Preguntó.”
According to the NFL, more than half of its social commentary comes from international markets. Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show will be available worldwide early next week, so its 124.9 million viewers in the U.S. alone could increase dramatically once worldwide data is entered.
The halftime show began making headlines months before the big game, due to complaints from right-wing commentators about Bad Bunny’s status as one of the most popular recording artists in the world today and his tendency to center Puerto Rican heritage in his work. Turning Point USA, a conservative group co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, created its own alternative halftime show “for people who love America,” according to headliner Kid Rock. In the end, TPUSA could not compete. The New York Times reported that the YouTube livestream peaked at 6.1 million viewers during the show and reached 21 million viewers afterward. By comparison, Bad Bunny had a huge audience and 57 million YouTube views on Sunday.
Highlights of Bad Bunny’s performance included a real wedding, several stunts, appearances by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, and 380 people dressed in grass-like costumes. Read Variety’s interview detailing the biggest moments with the halftime show producers here.
