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Afternoon Edition

February 11, 2025

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In perhaps the NFL’s greatest flex, it set another viewership record despite the 24–0 halftime score for this year’s Super Bowl. Full numbers released Tuesday highlight the league’s attention hegemony—and hint at the future for Fox, which has mostly sat out of the streaming wars.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]], and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

Super Bowl Set Viewership Record at 127.7M, Hints at Fox Streaming Future [[link removed]]

Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The final viewership numbers for Super Bowl LIX are in, and it’s now even more clear how much Fox’s strategy to expand access to the game paid off for the network.

After an initial average audience projection of 126 million [[link removed]] for the game, Fox said the game ultimately delivered an average of 127.7 million across all platforms. That figure is 3% higher than last year’s Super Bowl figure of 123.7 million, also adjusted from preliminary estimates [[link removed]], and is a record for a single event in U.S. television history.

The robust total for Super Bowl LIX, defying typical tune-out trends in a blowout such as the Eagles’ 40–22 win over the Chiefs, was aided by several key factors:

Historic viewership on Fox’s free streaming service, Tubi, that averaged 13.6 million, according to first-party data—a key part of an overall digital audience of 14.5 million that was the largest in Super Bowl history. Tubi typically does not show live sports, but the network placed a significant emphasis on promoting the availability of Super Bowl LIX on that platform. A unique decision to expand Spanish-language coverage of the game on Telemundo, owned by rival NBCUniversal, to supplement broadcasting on Fox Deportes. The two networks combined to average 1.87 million during the game. That figure is down from 2.3 million from last year’s Super Bowl, shown in Spanish on Univision, but the cross-network strategy was nonetheless rare for an event like this. A pregame show, starting at 1 p.m. ET, that also drew an event-record audience average of 23.4 million viewers for a game lead-in of that length. The game was also an early beneficiary of a newly expanded methodology from Nielsen [[link removed]] for counting out-of-home audiences, particularly in harder-to-reach rural areas.

The halftime show featuring Kendrick Lamar, meanwhile, posted an average of 133.5 million [[link removed]], representing the highest such figure ever for the Super Bowl entertainment showcase. The game audience itself peaked in the second quarter at 137.7 million.

New Strategy for Tubi?

It will now bear watching whether Fox does more with its live sports on Tubi after the historic success of Super Bowl LIX—which by itself posted a higher average audience than many sports events, including championships in the NBA and NHL, do across all platforms.

Before the game, not only did Tubi not offer much live sports, but it also didn’t have as much of a corporate focus for Fox compared to rival streaming services operated by other networks. Rather, Fox had consistently lauded the power of traditional television, even in an age of accelerating cord-cutting across the industry.

Last week, however, Fox announced plans to create a new direct-to-consumer service [[link removed]], something that will have a clear focus on live sports and news. To what degree that also involves Tubi is a question, but Fox clearly sees the larger audiences now possible through streaming.

“We do want to reach consumers wherever they are, and there’s a large population, obviously, that are now outside of the traditional cable bundle,” said Fox CEO and executive chair Lachlan Murdoch last week in an earnings call with analysts. “We are designing an offering to really target those cord-cutters and cord-nevers.”

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Saints Hire Kellen Moore, Closing NFL Coaching Carousel [[link removed]]

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The NFL’s coaching carousel [[link removed]] has officially come to a halt, with the Saints announcing the hire of Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. New Orleans is the seventh and final franchise to name a new head coach this offseason.

Moore interviewed for the job twice during the playoffs—once virtually and once in person—but the Saints had to wait until after his Eagles won Super Bowl LIX to formally sign him.

Two years ago, the Cardinals were hit with tampering charges surrounding the hire of former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon as their head coach. Arizona had to swap third-round NFL Draft picks with Philadelphia and give up a fifth-round selection.

Despite the formalities, the Eagles were not surprised [[link removed]] by Moore’s impending exit. “Unfortunately, we’re gonna have to wish him the very best with New Orleans,” Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said after Sunday’s victory. “Let’s run this shit back, Kellen,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni jokingly said.

Money Moves

Tuesday’s move capped an expensive hiring cycle filled with drama off the field. Here’s a recap of the head coaching hires:

Bears: Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson Cowboys: Promoted offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer Jaguars: Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen Jets: Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn Patriots: Former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel Raiders: Former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll Saints: Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore

Johnson was the most sought-after candidate and landed a deal [[link removed]] reportedly worth $13 million per season with the Bears. Coen’s salary may not be far behind [[link removed]] after he spurned the Buccaneers, who had offered to make him the NFL’s highest-paid coordinator.

Carroll’s hiring, which makes him the oldest head coach in the NFL at 73, highlighted Tom Brady’s growing influence [[link removed]] as a minority owner of the Raiders, despite his $375 million role as Fox’s No. 1 NFL game analyst.

Schottenheimer’s promotion put an even larger spotlight on the unique coaching hiring strategy [[link removed]] of Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones, following Mike McCarthy’s exit after his contract expired [[link removed]].

One Final Puzzle Piece

The Jets, Raiders, and Titans hired new GMs this cycle, and now the only major NFL vacancy is the Jaguars GM position.

Jacksonville fired Trent Baalke ahead of Coen’s hiring, after initially retiring its front office leader when it fired coach Doug Pederson. The Jaguars hired Hall of Fame offensive lineman Tony Boselli as EVP of football operations. Boselli, Coen, and the new GM will all report directly to team owner Shad Khan.

The franchise also extended team president Mark Lamping, who is leading efforts around the $1.4 billion renovations to EverBank Stadium, which will require playing in a temporary venue in 2027 [[link removed]].

Caitlin Clark Raves About Indiana Fever’s Offseason Moves [[link removed]]

Mark Smith-Imagn Images

The Indiana Fever made several offseason moves in the last few weeks, but Caitlin Clark has remained fairly quiet.

The Fever signed DeWanna Bonner [[link removed]], a six-time All-Star and two-time WNBA champion, and Natasha Howard, a two-time All-Star and three-time champion. The two signed one-year deals worth at least $200,000—slightly below the maximum salary of about $250,000, which is what the Fever paid to re-sign guard Kelsey Mitchell, Clark’s backcourt partner.

But at Monday’s introductory press conference [[link removed]] for Bonner, Clark finally gave her thoughts on the franchise’s offseason moves—and they were overwhelmingly positive.

“We didn’t really have much experience at all playing in playoff games [last year],” Clark said. “Adding pieces, players that have been in this league—they know what it takes to win, they know what it takes to get to the Finals, they know what it takes to win championships—I think it’s exactly what we needed in our locker room.”

Bonner and Howard have played 140 playoff games combined. Before the Fever were swept by Bonner and the Connecticut Sun in the first round last year, their entire roster combined for just 19 total playoff games [[link removed]].

The 37-year-old Bonner, who played her last two seasons with the Sun under new Fever coach Stephanie White, gave a stamp of approval to the Fever’s young core—which consists of Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Lexie Hull—by saying she still wants to “win another championship.”

Indiana’s offseason work also included announcing plans for a $78 million training center in downtown Indianapolis that will open in 2027—the final year of Clark’s rookie deal that pays her an average salary of $84,517 per year [[link removed]]. Clark heaped praise on Pacers Sports & Entertainment, the owner of the Fever and the NBA’s Pacers, for its willingness to invest in a franchise despite being in a relatively small market.

“This is the franchise in all of women’s sports, I say. No matter what sport it is. … I think the next few years are going to be amazing for this franchise, and will continue to be for hopefully ten-plus years and hopefully we win a few championships,” Clark said.

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STATUS REPORT Two Up, One Down, One Push

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Mavericks ⬇ The aftermath of the Luka Dončić trade [[link removed]] continues to get worse for Dallas. It lost Anthony Davis [[link removed]] and Daniel Gafford [[link removed]] to injuries in each of its last two games. Fans continue to express their displeasure [[link removed]], including one fan who mouthed “Fire Nico [Harrison],” in reference to the team’s GM, on the jumbotron during Monday’s game and was subsequently kicked out of the arena [[link removed]]. Meanwhile in Los Angeles, the Lakers blew out the Jazz in Dončić’s debut Monday—with Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki in attendance [[link removed]] to support his friend and former teammate.

US Open mixed doubles ⬆ The championship is increasing its first-place prize money to $1 million (up from $200,000) and will be played the week before the Grand Slam’s main men’s and women’s singles draws.

NFL Media ⬆⬇ The NFL and ESPN have resumed discussions [[link removed]] about the league selling off its controlling stakes in NFL Network and NFL RedZone, according to Puck News. Since 2021, the NFL has held various talks [[link removed]] with most of its media-rights partners in an effort to offload its owned and operated media assets, which also include NFL.com, its app, and fantasy football operations.

The Hundred ⬆ Todd Boehly, co-owner of Premier League club Chelsea, has bought a 49% stake in Trent Rockets, a cricket team in the U.K.-based league. The purchase values the team at around $98 million. The Hundred kicks off its fifth season in August.

Conversation Starters Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” had a 430% increase in Spotify streams [[link removed]] after his Super Bowl halftime show performance. Check out [[link removed]] Jalen Hurts on a float with Mickey and Minnie Mouse in Disney World a day after winning Super Bowl LIX. McDonald’s has officially released The Angel Reese Special [[link removed]], its first signature meal promoted around a female athlete. The meal features a BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese topped with a new BBQ sauce, french fries, and a drink. Editors’ Picks How Did Kanye West’s Super Bowl Ad for Swastika Merch Make it on the Air? [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]The site was taken down Tuesday morning. ‘Important’ 4 Nations Face-Off Can Be NHL’s All-Star Antidote [[link removed]]by Meredith Turits [[link removed]]“The stars have been lobbying the league for an event like this.” ESPN Parting Ways With Top Rank Boxing After Eight Years [[link removed]]by Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]]The boxing business has been in a state of flux for several years. Colin Cowherd’s Volume Adds Rory & Mal Podcast in Entertainment Push [[link removed]]by Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]]It is the second new podcast Volume has added this year. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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