Oh, what I would give to be listening the meeting today around the NFL and corporate America. That would be a delight. They have to be losing their collective shit today. I’ll explain, but I think you already have a clue. The reaction from the internets is wild, but I’ll add my 2 cents as well, from a TV producer standpoint.
The big takeaway is the numbers for the halftime show. That’s it. We’ll have reaction to Bad Bunny as well but let’s start with this: Turning Point USA getting well over 25 million views for their super bowl halftime show with Kid Rock as of last night. That’s a TV atomic bomb. That’s huge.
Yes, the Super Bowl with still put up respectable numbers of viewers, but 25 million people peeled off to watch something else. At least for halftime. Certainly, those people buy things. Certainly, advertisers want those eyeballs looking at their products. It’s a gigantic number of viewers! The NFL just opened Pandoras box. People will leave a live program and watch something else. Live events are the Alamo for TV ads. This is unheard of. Kid Rock and TPUSA have proven that there’s at least 25 million people who will watch something else.
If you’re an ad buyer? You’re pissed today. The NFL holds your feet to the fire by promising huge numbers for the Super Bowl. Do you get a discount is 25 million (mostly American, I’m guessing) people leave for a bit?
And how much damage did Bad Bunny do the NFL brand? I have no issue with whatever lyrics someone wants to sing. You wanna sing about Ecstasy and butt bangin? Fine. But is this what the NFL wants to promote? That’s the question.
People were so pissed off they were trying to call ICE. Which is hilarious to me.
I didn’t watch the show as I was traveling last night. But the fallout is fantastic. Bad Bunny will still have his fans. He’ll be fine. But today the big story is still TPUSA peeling 25 million people away from the super bowl.
This year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show was the most watched in the history of the Super Bowl. I think the NFL is feeling just fine about their choice. Also, there are no reports that anywhere close to 10 million people were watching the TPUSA Halftime Show live. That 25M number is including views after the fact, so the idea that 25M people stopped watching the Super Bowl to change the channel is baseless.
Wrong , Harry’. Those 25 million were the real numbers and you can try to make it seem otherwise , but your wrong. People were going to X thinking the show was broadcasting on there ,but didn’t due to copyright restictiins. Not everyone got there at the beginning due to that but we (including me ) watched a spectacular show and it was a thousand times better than Bad Buny who’s music sucks! The NFL recognized those numbers today and they should take notice when 25 million people peel away from their premire game of the season. Those numbers have power and they will haunt the NFL and advertisers that when we don’t like something we can turn it off and watch something else.
I’m sorry Lynne, but my wife tuned in when TPUSA was live. There was close to 1 million watching live on Youtube at the time. I support what TPUSA was doing, but it does not appear that they peeled off 25 million viewers during the game. If they had, TPUSA would have been tweeting out screen caps during the event showing the numbers and crowing loudly.
It was stilla success, but didn’t dent the NFL ratings, and if anything just gave the NFL a lot of free publicity, not that they need it.
TPUSA was literally on the news talking about the massive numbers of viewers. YouTube it’s the #1 Livestream in American history! The NFL has to be shitting bricks today. Yes, the Super Bowl will still put up solid viewership numbers, but the TPUSA show is huge hit! This will hurt the NFL making ad revenue. Advertisers won’t be eager to spend the big bucks on ads.
Agreed! Was huge. HUGE!
Michael Buffa,When I turned into the show ,4.9 million people were watching it on Youtube and it went up from there when Kid Rock hit the stage. I did not check Rumble’s numbers because I busy was watching a Schitt’s Creek marathon instead of the game. RIP.Catherine O’Hara.
Thanks for pointing that out! Well we must have missed that because that’s not the numbers at the time we tuned in. That’s a far cry from 25 million live.
You proved my point.
Do you really believe that Kid Rock’s performance increased live viewership by 20M people? RIP Catherine O’Hara, that we can absolutely agree on
Agreed! RIP Catherine O’hara. She was incredible. And yes, I think 25 million is correct. The Game is huge. It gets around 120 million. One year it did 127 million. So, globally one in 4 people flipping over to TPUSA on youtube for halftime doesn’t surprise me one bit. It’s classic counter programming. The Puppy Bowl is another classic example. The puppy bowl does around 12 million.
And can I also say that I’m digging this comment thread? This is great! Love it! Thank you all!
The number one livestream in American history. That’s Youtube. It was big.
True, and i have to admit, Neilson ahsn’t come out ith their numbers yet, maybe TPUSA did effect the numbers.
Usually, Neilson is out there tooting the NFL horn. The plot thickens. 🤔
Indeed. They already know. Just trying to figure out the spin. After years of working in hollywood? People can spin some ratings. LOL!
Lol you would know! Yep, That Park Place did a great breakdown –
https://thatparkplace.com/bad-bunny-halftime-show-record-viewership-narrative-collapses-as-final-nielsen-numbers-show-year-over-year-decline/
Harry, Anything is possible. Once again,I didn’t get to see Rumble’s numbers but that’s not the reason I tuned in. I tuned in for the talented musicians. Harry,you and I go at each other a lot ,but I will say you have excellent taste when it comes to the late great Catherine O’Hara, who I’ve been a fan of since SCTV. Loved her movies with Christopher Guest and I was in awe of her most iconic creation,Moira Rose on Schitt’s Creek. She was a comedic genius.
I watched the TP half-time show and it was gratifying and uplifting.
Bad Bunny’s ‘Baticano’ lyrics were at the very least obscene. I had no idea there were such dirty lyrics. I wonder if all the other songs were as nasty?
Complaints should be made to the FCC on grounds of ‘obscenity’. Brodcasters must ‘serve the public interest’. Complaints work and have generated huge fines: Case in point: The FCC fined FOX? for a family guy episode shown on Mother’s day when Stewie called his mother by the term ‘B—-‘ several times and delivered several other equally bad and anti-woman insults. I can’t find the reference now, but it’s on the FCC site.
So why shouldn’t they fine the network, the NFL, and ‘Bad Bunny’ for intentionally putting that filthy language on the air when they all knew children/minors would be watching? I suggest that good citizens, all who can, each make a formal complaint, and get their decency-loving friends to also file complaints, including a copy or image of that text and the info from the X post.
Maybe it will only be a slap on the wrist for the culprits who defile our traditions, but they will have to deal with it in their legal department and they won’t like that. BB especially won’t be happy if he is fined, because half-time shows are typically paid almost nothing, maybe $50-$500, since doing the show is worth so much in publicity.
Agreed! And I think this will turn out to be a bad move for mr Bunny too. That stadium full of people just standing there for his show? Ouch. And yeah. Who’s gonna line up to pay big money for a superbowl ad next year? Ouch