For a long time, the commercials shown during The Super Bowl have generated as much buzz as the game itself, sometimes more! That changed in a big way this year, with Super Bowl 2026 being overwhelmingly defined by culture.
While the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 29–13 to claim their second championship, it was Bad Bunny’s halftime performance celebrating Puerto Rican and pan-American identity that commanded the most attention.
Our Explore+ analysis shows that while the game and commercials sparked significant conversation, cultural authenticity and celebrities overwhelmingly outperformed traditional advertising when it came to engaging and sustaining audience attention.
This analysis uses Explore+ data to unpack:
- How global audiences actually talked about Super Bowl 2026 across platforms and regions
- Which teams, moments, and celebrities mattered most
- What Super Bowl 2026 suggests about shifting audience interests
Here’s the in-depth, data-focused look at what got the world talking during Super Bowl LX.
Super Bowl 2026 Global Conversation Overview
First, a general recap. Here are the overall headlines of the game day conversation.
How large was the Super Bowl 2026 conversation, and where did it occur?
There were about 1.7 million mentions of the Super Bowl, and 169 million engagement actions, across traditional, digital, and social media sources from 12 am PST on game day to 3 am the day after, according to Meltwater Explore+ data.
X generated the highest volume of Super Bowl conversation, with about 44% share of voice (SOV) of the discussion, followed by Reddit with about 28% and Bluesky in a distant third at about 6.5%.
Conversation timing varied across those sources, with X and Bluesky mentions peaking at 5pm PST as the halftime show began, highlighting the platforms as venues for real-time reactions. However, mentions on Reddit, which lends itself to more in-depth discussions and focused debate, peaked about an hour later at 6 pm.
Takeaway: X was the place to be for real-time audience commentary and interaction during Super Bowl 2026, especially during and just after the halftime show.
What was the overall sentiment toward Super Bowl 2026?
Overall discussion about the game was slightly more favorable than not, with 30% of mentions being positive and about 24% being negative. However, positive mentions generated significantly more engagement actions at 38% of the total compared to about 16% from negative ones.
Notably, sentiment became much more polarized during the halftime show, with neutral sentiment dropping to 35% (from 48%), while positive sentiment rose to 37% (from 24%) and negative sentiment remained stable at 28%. With halftime driving 66% of total engagement, this moment emerged as the emotional peak of the event, with audiences expressing more pointed perspectives.
Where were Super Bowl 2026 viewers and commentators located?
The overwhelming majority of conversation was generated by audiences in the U.S., who mentioned the Super Bowl about 378,000 times. Viewers in neighboring Mexico generated the second highest volume of mentions, about 34,200, followed by Brazil with about 25,600 mentions and Australia with about 24,600.
All three countries are home to growing NFL fanbases, with the league set to host regular-season games in Mexico City, Rio, and Melbourne later this year.
How much of the Super Bowl 2026 conversation focused on the teams?
Team-related conversations, mentioning either or both the Seahawks and the Patriots, accounted for 30% of total event mentions and 8% of total engagement. This signals strong fan-driven chatter but relatively limited amplification.
Why Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show Became the Defining Moment of Super Bowl 2026
Bad Bunny’s halftime show drove 37% of total Super Bowl mentions and 66% of total engagement (more than the teams competing), making it the conversational and emotional peak of the event.
How large was the Bad Bunny halftime show conversation?
There were about 627,000 mentions of Bad Bunny and his halftime show, and 111 million associated engagement actions, making it the hottest moment of the night.
About 56% of those mentions and 50% of those engagement actions came from X, where mentions skewed positive.
Reddit generated the second highest volume of mentions at 18%, but less than 1% of total engagements, with the discussion skewed slightly negative.
Meanwhile, TikTok, where sentiment was mixed, generated less than 1% of Bad Bunny mentions but the second highest volume of engagement actions at about 26%.
Takeaway: X and Reddit were the go-to platforms for discussing the big game, while X and TikTok were the leading platforms for reacting to and amplifying content.
What were the most talked about moments from Bad Bunny’s halftime show?
Celebrity appearances were the top driver of halftime show conversation, accounting for roughly 20% of mentions and around 21% of engagement. Highlights included:
- Lady Gaga’s appearance, which led the celebrity-driven conversation and generated about 9% of halftime mentions and about 10% of halftime engagement, with 43% positive sentiment.
- Ricky Martin’s cameo, which generated about 5% of halftime mentions and engagement. Over 40% of that engagement came from TikTok alone.
- Cardi B and Pedro Pascal, who appeared as extras in the performance, drove about 2% of halftime engagement each.
Key moments of Bad Bunny’s performance also generated buzz, including:
- The on-stage wedding, with 2% of total halftime mentions (driven mainly by news and broadcast coverage) and an average of 205 engagements per post
- Bad Bunny handing his Grammy Award to a young child, with 0.3% of halftime mentions (again shaped primarily by news coverage) but an average of 380 engagements per post
- The “God Bless America” moment, featuring a parade of flags from all North and South American countries and territories, with about 1% of halftime mentions (primarily driven by social media discussion) and an average of about 233 per post
Out of those three key events, the “God Bless America” flag moment was most driven by organic social media discourse, highlighting its roots in audience-led cultural and political interpretation over press coverage alone.
This post on X was the most engaged piece of social content about Bad Bunny’s “God Bless America” sequence at the halftime show, generating 12% of the moment’s total engagement.
By contrast, brands and their commercials only generated about 1% of total Super Bowl mentions and less than 1% of total event engagement. Notably, 38% of brand mentions came from news and 35% from broadcast, while only 12% originated from X, underscoring lagging audience investment.
Takeaway: The halftime show and its celebrity appearances overshadowed brands and commercials at Super Bowl 2026.
Check back tomorrow to see our full analysis of Super Bowl commercials and the day-after conversations about them!
Super Bowl 2026 Key Takeaways
Halftime — not the game or brands — was the true attention and engagement driver
While the game itself sustained conversation volume, the halftime show clearly emerged as the emotional and cultural peak of the event, with average engagement actions per post being nearly double that of the event. Despite significant investment from sponsors, brand-related discussion was marginal, indicating a distinct lack of viewer interest. This suggests that the days when securing a sought-after 30 second mid-game ad-slot guaranteed cultural relevance may be coming to an end.
Star power helped drive halftime social impact
Celebrities featured alongside Bad Bunny played a meaningful role in shaping halftime conversation, accounting for ~20% of mentions and ~21% of total engagement. High-profile figures like Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin generated the largest share of celebrity-driven buzz thanks to high-authority media coverage and short-form videos on Instagram and TikTok.
Not all buzz is equal: media amplification vs audience-driven conversation
Several highly visible moments, like the on-stage wedding and Grammy gifting moments, were primarily media-driven with limited social media discussion. In contrast, moments tied to identity, symbolism, and cultural interpretation—such as the “God Bless America” segment—sparked more organic, audience-driven discourse. In the end, Bad Bunny’s focus on cultural identity and pride resonated much more strongly with audiences than any other aspect of the event.
Super Bowl 2026 FAQs
Which platforms mattered most during Super Bowl 2026?
Meltwater’s analysis found that X and Reddit drove the majority of conversation volume, accounting for 44% and 28% of mentions respectively, while X and TikTok dominated engagement, generating 50% and 24% of engagement actions.
What was audience sentiment toward Super Bowl 2026?
According to Meltwater, overall sentiment toward Super Bowl 2026 was mixed but slightly favorable, with 30% positive mentions outweighing 24% negative ones. Plus, positive mentions generated significantly more engagement actions on average.
What was the biggest moment of Super Bowl 2026?
Meltwater found that Bad Bunny’s halftime show was the emotional and conversational centerpiece of Super Bowl 2026, driving 37% of total mentions and 66% of engagement. Sentiment and engagement metrics show that celebrity appearances and culturally resonant moments consistently outperformed traditional advertising in capturing audience attention.
How did brands perform during Super Bowl 2026?
Meltwater analysis revealed that brands accounted for only about 1% of total Super Bowl mentions and less than 1% of engagement. Most brand-related coverage came from news and broadcast rather than social platforms, suggesting that traditional Super Bowl advertising struggled to compete with organic, culture-driven content.
What role did international audiences play in Super Bowl 2026?
Meltwater’s geographic analysis found that while U.S. audiences dominated the conversation, significant engagement came from Mexico, Brazil, and Australia, reflecting the NFL’s growing global footprint.
What can marketers learn from Super Bowl 2026?
Meltwater’s analysis of the big game shows that authentic cultural engagement and celebrity involvement were essential for breaking through during major live events and resonating with audiences. The relatively low volume of brand mentions in Super Bowl discussions shows that the days when securing a sought-after 30 second mid-game ad-slot guaranteed cultural relevance may be coming to an end.
