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There was a time when the Super Bowl halftime show was the most innocuous thing: college marching bands and children’s choirs praising Frosty the Snowman. But that was before. In 1993, Michael Jackson took the exercise to another dimension, transforming it into a “global pop event” scrutinized like few others. Over the years, the biggest stars have put on the show, from Prince to Beyoncé, including Madonna and Shakira. And “as the audience grew, the stakes rose,” recounts Newsweek. Last year, the Super Bowl was watched by more than 127 million people. The NFL hopes to reach 150 million viewers for the 2026 edition, which will take place this Sunday in San Francisco and pit the Seattle Seahawks against the New England Patriots.
This year, it is Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, who is expected on stage. The issues? They are economical, of course. The Puerto Rican rapper “was the most streamed artist in 2020, a title he won again in 2021, 2022 and 2025,” recalls the New York Times. “Bad Bunny’s audience is young, Latin American and international, exactly the demographic the league needs as its audience ages. In 2023, the average age of NFL viewers was 50. The annual half-time show is one of the few tools left to reach the next generation,” explains Newsweek. For his part, in anticipation of what his fans call the “Benito Bowl”, the star “obtained a license to market new products derived from the Super Bowl”, writes the New York Times. A win-win deal.
