A new report suggests that a record number of viewers tuned out of the Super Bowl during Bad Bunny’s halftime performance on Sunday, raising fresh questions about the NFL’s controversial choice of headliner.
According to Front Office Sports, reporter Ryan Glasspiegel analyzed quarter-hour ratings data from Nielsen and found a significant drop in viewership during the window that coincided with Bad Bunny’s performance.
“Based on my understanding of the data, Bad Bunny lost more [percentage] of the Super Bowl viewership from the end of the second quarter than has ever happened before,” Glasspiegel wrote on X.
Nielsen data showed that 135.9 million viewers were watching the NBC and Telemundo broadcasts between 8:00 and 8:14 p.m. ET. That number dropped to 128.2 million between 8:15 and 8:29 p.m., a decline of 7.7 million viewers. The latter time slot aligned with the halftime show.
“Bad Bunny’s performance occurred during the latter window,” Glasspiegel explained. “This was a decline of 7% from the game’s peak viewership of 137.9 million in the second quarter, and 5.7% from the immediately preceding quarter-hour.”
While halftime performances typically draw increased viewership, the report noted that last year’s show featuring Kendrick Lamar also experienced a dip, shedding 4% of viewers toward the end of the first half.
Glasspiegel added that the competitiveness of the game may have played a role. He pointed out that both this year’s Seahawks-Patriots matchup and last year’s Eagles-Chiefs game appeared largely decided by halftime, which could have contributed to viewers tuning out. The report did not include Nielsen data for the 15-minute segment immediately following Bad Bunny’s performance.
Despite the drop, the 128.2 million viewers who watched the halftime show still exceeded the game’s overall average of 124.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen data released Tuesday. However, this year’s Super Bowl averaged 2.8 million fewer viewers than the Eagles-Chiefs matchup in 2025. Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show last year drew 5.3 million more viewers than Bad Bunny’s performance.
Bad Bunny’s selection as halftime headliner sparked debate leading up to the game. The artist’s performance, delivered entirely in Spanish, drew criticism from some viewers, particularly supporters of President Donald Trump. The controversy was heightened by remarks Bad Bunny made at the Grammy Awards a week earlier, when he criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Some pro-MAGA viewers opted to skip the NFL halftime show altogether and instead watch Turning Point USA’s “All-American” halftime alternative. According to Mediaite, the TPUSA event peaked at about 5 million live viewers. Headliner Kid Rock faced online mockery from some users who accused him of lip-syncing his 1998 hit “Bawitdaba.”
Reactions to Bad Bunny’s performance varied. Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro praised the staging of the sugar cane field-themed set but expressed discomfort with what he described as a “plethora of butts on the screen.” President Trump was more direct, calling the show “terrible” and describing it as a “slap in the face” to Americans.
While halftime viewership fluctuations are not unprecedented, the Nielsen data cited by Front Office Sports suggests that this year’s performance coincided with a larger-than-usual drop. Whether that decline reflects political backlash, game dynamics, or broader audience preferences remains open to interpretation, but the numbers have fueled an already heated cultural debate.
[READ MORE: FBI Releases New Images of Masked Figure in Disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s Mother]
