The 59th Super Bowl will be one of the globe’s most significant sporting events again as the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans prepares to welcome up to 83,000 spectators. It may be called American football, but the gridiron is no longer a big domestic game with a bit of worldwide interest. This ball travels much further now across all continents.
The Super Bowl is truly an international event with an increasing reach yearly. People tuning in worldwide are taken by the unique mix of the stars on the pitch and the stars off it. The cultural interest that the event produces transcends football. That’s the key to the annual event, which happens every February. There’s a match, music, and glitz, and millions are watching it all.
This piece will look into that more closely, but a look at the numbers of last year’s global viewership is telling. What could have been more captivating when the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas with a Patrick Mahomes overtime play? If the Chiefs make it to New Orleans – and their Super Bowl odds are looking good – they will be looking for a third consecutive title, which would make history. 62.5 million people were waiting to watch from almost 200 countries, including Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, Canada, and Mexico.
One of the most significant chunks of that audience – virtually two-thirds of it- was from the latter two countries. Mexico and Canada have no time zone issues with kick-off as they share a border with the States. Twenty years ago, Mexico City hosted the first NFL regular season game outside the States when the Arizona Cardinals defeated the 49ers.
Things have come a long way since then. The 49ers and Chiefs hold international marketing rights in the country as part of the NFL’s global markets program to build brand awareness and increase fandom beyond the US. It’s working.
The international series of fixtures the NFL exports will also significantly impact the potential audience in the future. More games will be played in London and Berlin in 2025, and the league will also reach out to Spain with a fixture at Real Madrid’s famous stadium. The footprint is getting bigger. The NFL held a three-day camp in Lagos last year and aims to have a regular season fixture on the African continent.
Many significant factors can pull in sports fans for the main show but also for the more substantial piece of the action that happens off the pitch. The musical half-time entertainment is legendary, with luminaries like Michael Jackson, Coldplay, and the Rolling Stones being just some of the names played in the showpiece. Last year, Usher pulled in a record amount of viewers, exceeding Rihanna’s figures 12 months beforehand when Apple first sponsored the interval.
There is another factor that draws in other fans from the home country. The US broadcast commercials for the Super Bowl, known as the Super Bowl Ads, always have a unique edge with a celebrity involved. They have become as much of an annual event to look forward to as the game itself.
The latest one featured Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in a Dunkin’ Donuts piece. A recent survey suggests two-fifths of the domestic audience tune in just for the commercial. Given that so many eyeballs are watching, there is such a massive incentive for companies like Coca-Cola, Budweiser and others to fill this premium spot.
The build-up to the 2025 event is well on its way. Whether the Taylor Swift effect will give the ratings another bounce remains to be seen. The star power of Mahomes and the pop culture power of Swift would certainly give numbers a surge should the Chiefs make it. Part 2 surely can’t be as good as the first one, but who said lightning doesn’t strike twice?
The signs are healthy, and world audiences will respond. Super Bowl figures have recorded over 100 million viewers in the last two years. Billboard voted Kendrick Lamar the Greatest Pop Star of 2024, so his half-time appearance will be a draw. Louisiana-native and five-time Grammy Award winner Jon Batiste will also be performing the National Anthem this year to give things a local flavor.
Whatever happens on February 9 and whoever plays, the market conditions for a massive spectacle people invest in emotionally and culturally are only increasing. With the power of streaming, the global marketing of the game, the power of social media, and the noise surrounding the match, there’s no need for a trailer. It will activate even more fans of the NFL’s endgame.
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