The Super Bowl LIX is more than just a regular sporting event; it's one of the most anticipated, high-stakes National Football League (NFL) matches of the year since it determines the best football team in the league for the current season.
This football championship is so popular that it has become an unmissable major cultural event for millions of Americans nationwide due to its iconic halftime performances, creative commercials, and the sense of unity and patriotism it instills.
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Although the NFL was founded in 1920, the Super Bowl has been around since 1967. This Sunday's game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans will mark the league's 59th season.
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But since its inception so many decades ago, the NFL has continued growing its relevancy even after all these years, something no other sports league has done thus far, and here's how.
NFL racks up sponsors as television viewership soars
The NFL is the most lucrative sports league in the world, with an aggregated value of approximately $163 billion across its 32 teams and an estimated annual revenue of over $20 billion.
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According to SponsorUnited, NFL teams’ sponsorship revenue increased 6% from last season to $2.49 billion this season, which was led by ticketing, alcoholic beverage, and telecom brands.
Even after nearly 105 years of existence, the NFL has won the title of the most-watched television program in the U.S. for multiple consecutive years. NFL games are among the most widely watched televised sports worldwide, with an average viewership of 21 million per game. That's without counting the Super Bowl, which reached a global audience of over 123.7 million viewers in 2024.
A record number of people are expected to watch Super Bowl LIX
Although the NFL has mainly relied on its male fanbase, which has dominated viewership numbers for decades, a recent shift has turned the NFL upside down. Its audience has massively expanded, reaching wider demographics, something most sports leagues haven't accomplished.
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According to the NFL, the Super Bowl saw a record-breaking increase in women viewers, representing nearly half of the people who watched the game last year.
The league's Latino fanbase has also grown rapidly and is growing faster each year. It totals 39 million, up 11% in 2023.
Those record numbers have prompted the NFL to shift its marketing strategies to further accelerate these emerging audiences' growth. The NFL's strategies include partnering with Betches Media and dealing with various Hispanic media groups to broadcast the league's matches in Spanish.
The NFL has easily adapted to the ever-evolving consumer demands through its savvy use of marketing, ability to keep up with trends, and innovative strategies, allowing it to remain relevant in culture and society.
The NFL embraces streaming sports media
The NFL games and Super Bowl had historically only been broadcast through cable TV, but as streaming services have grown in popularity, the NFL has closed massive multi-million dollar broadcasting deals with huge streaming networks, including Disney, Netflix, Hulu, Fox, Amazon, Paramount, and YouTube. These deals have increased the NFL's reach and made it more convenient for viewers to watch from anywhere and anytime, even on phones.
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The Super Bowl has also evolved with the times. It's gone from being mainly focused on the game itself to becoming an A-list celebrity and influencer red-carpet event. Recently, that became even more true after Taylor Swift began dating Kansas City Chiefs Tight End Travis Kelce and became best friends with Patrick Mahomes' wife.
Thousands of celebrities go to the Super Bowl every year, whether sponsored by a brand or on their own dime. However, more than ever, companies have begun paying for influencers to attend this sporting event, growing awareness among the younger generations who otherwise might not be as interested if it wasn't for their favorite Internet personalities attending.
More NFL:
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Although viewership for Super Bowl LIX is expected to decline to 116.8 million compared to last year, the data doesn't account for audiences who don't watch the game live or on social media platforms and bases its data on previous external TV viewership, meaning it doesn't include data from the recent broadcasting deals that the NFL just closed to stream this year's championship.
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