Super Bowl LIX Dominates February TV Viewing

The 59th Super Bowl broke viewership records last month. Nielsen’s February The Gauge ™ report includes viewership trends across traditional TV and streaming.

Super Bowl LIX

• The Big Game had a record-breaking 127.7 million viewers waiting from FOX’s broadcast, including streaming from simulcast Tubi. These record-breaking numbers illustrate the impact of cross-platform distribution.
• While other sporting events, including the Super Bowl, were provided on streaming services, Tubi’s free ad supported streaming (FAST) allowed the game to reach more viewers.
• Tubi represented a third of all streaming usage and multiplied its audience by nearly 16 times from its January 2025 average.
• Super Bowl viewers on Tubi were 38% more likely to be 18-34 (skewing slightly female) than total game average.

Overall Trends

• Broadcast (21.2%) and cable (23.2%) combined account for 44.4% of TV viewing in February.
• Streaming accounts for 43.5% of total viewing time this month.
• Broadcast dramas held the largest share of broadcast viewing at 27%, an increase by 15% from January 2025.
• Cable news represented 27% of all cable viewing in February, increasing by 8% from last month.

Most Viewed Programs

• Most Viewed Broadcast Programs – Super Bowl programming (including pre- and post-game), followed by NBC’s Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary and the Grammys on CBS, with 16.5 million viewers and 16.2 million viewers respectively.
• Most Viewed Cable Programs – The first NHL 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game on ESPN, with 9.3 million viewers. The next 13 top cable telecasts were all on FOX News Channel.
• Most Viewed Streaming Programs – The Night Agent on Netflix with 6 billion viewing minutes, with the second being Bluey on Disney+ with 4.2 billion minutes.