ESPN Wants Its First Super Bowl to Be the Most-Watched Ever

NEW YORK — During Disney’s upfront presentation Tuesday, ESPN set an ambitious goal for itself. NFL Live host Laura Rutledge declared ESPN wants to set the record for most-watched Super Bowl of all time when it broadcasts the 61st edition of the Big Game on Feb. 14, 2027.

That won’t be easy. Fox Sports’s broadcast of the Eagles’ 40–22 win over the Chiefs in February 2025 holds the current record with an eye-popping 127. 71 million average viewers.

But setting a viewership record during its first Super Bowl production would be sweet revenge for ESPN. For years, the sports media giant and parent company Disney seethed on the sidelines while rivals Fox, CBS Sports, and NBC Sports split hundreds of millions in ad revenues from the most-watched TV broadcast of the year. That finally changed in 2021, when ESPN forged a new 10-year deal with the NFL that allowed it to join the Super Bowl rotation after the 2026 and 2030 NFL seasons.

Realizing the importance of ESPN’s maiden Super Bowl, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell appeared onstage with Joe Buck of Monday Night Football at Disney’s upfront. It was the only live appearance Goodell made among NFL media partners during this year’s upfront season. With Disney’s support, ESPN is throwing everything but the kitchen sink into its Super Bowl preparation.