Fox's broadcast of Super Bowl LIX on Sunday drew a whopping 127.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen figures, making it the most-viewed Super Bowl and U.S. telecast of all time.

Why it matters: The record numbers are especially impressive, given the Philadelphia Eagles' blowout performance against the Kansas City Chiefs.

By the numbers: Viewership for the game was up 3% from 123.4 million people who tuned in last year.

• The game peaked at 137.7 million viewers in the second quarter, per Nielsen.
• Lamar's performance drew an average of 133.5 million viewers across television and digital platforms, setting a new record for the most-watched Super Bowl halftime performance in history,

Between the lines: The ratings included viewership across Fox's broadcast network, Fox Deportes and Telemundo, as well the NFL's digital networks (including NFL+) and Fox's ad-supported streaming service Tubi.

• An average audience of 1.87 million combined viewers watched the game in Spanish on Fox Deportes and Telemundo.

Zoom out: Fox said the game set a record for the largest Super Bowl streaming audience in history, delivering an average minute audience of 14.5 million viewers across Tubi, Telemundo and NFL Digital properties.

• Fox was the first Super Bowl broadcaster ever to make its live broadcast feed of the game available to streamers for free. (Previous Super Bowl broadcasts were only available on paywalled streaming services, like Paramount+.)

The big picture: The Super Bowl is one of the rare live TV events that can still bring people together for a shared experience.

• That makes the Big Game an increasingly valuable place for advertisers to tap into the cultural zeitgeist.
• Fox reportedly sold some 30-second ads for up to $8 million, a new record.

Disney is changing its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs to focus more closely on business outcomes, according to a note sent to employees today and obtained by Axios.

• As part of the shift, sources tell Axios that Disney is moving and changing the content disclaimers it started releasing around certain titles in 2020.

The big picture: The changes, while less dramatic than those introduced by other Fortune 500 companies in recent weeks, speak to the pressure brands face trying to adjust to new expectations in the second Trump era.

Zoom in: In a note to employees sent this morning, chief human resources officer Sonia Coleman outlined ways Disney's DEI efforts will change.

• Other Performance Factors. Beginning this fiscal year, Disney will replace the "Diversity & Inclusion" performance factor that it used to evaluate executive compensation with a new "Talent Strategy."
• New website and DEI rebranding. Disney is getting rid of its controversial Reimagine Tomorrow initiative and the corresponding website, which was used to highlight stories and talent from underrepresented communities.

Between the lines: While not announced as part of Coleman's note, sources confirmed to Axios that Disney is updating the language of the content advisories that run before certain titles on its streaming services and moving them to the details section of those titles.

• The entertainment giant is removing the auto-play content advisory disclaimers that run before some older titles on Disney+, like "Dumbo" and "Peter Pan," that warn viewers the film "includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of peoples or cultures."
• Instead, the shortened advisory in the details section will read, "This program is presented as originally created and may contain stereotypes or negative depictions," two sources familiar with the changes confirmed to Axios.

The big picture: For more than 100 years, Disney has prided itself on being a family-friendly brand that doesn't get involved in politics.

• But the Mouse House found itself in the political crosshairs when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waged a public battle against the company over its opposition to Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill.
• Since returning to the company as CEO in 2022, Bob Iger has made it a priority to clean up Disney's corporate reputation, and data shows his efforts are working.

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NBC's longest-running prime-time series, "Dateline," will debut Spanish-language episodes on its sister network Telemundo beginning this Saturday, the network announced Tuesday.

Why it matters: "Dateline" is one of the few legacy television franchises that has successfully expanded its audience to younger generations through streaming and podcasts.

Zoom in: The new show, hosted by Noticias Telemundo anchor Julio Vaqueiro, marks the first time the newsmagazine show, now in its 33rd season, will air in another language.

• The show will air existing English-language episodes that are fully dubbed in Spanish.
• All of the show's 911 call readouts, graphics, police interviews, graphics and subtitles will be translated.

Zoom out: Bringing the show to Telemundo marks the latest in a broader transformation of "Dateline" for the digital era.

• The success of the "Dateline" franchise has been so meaningful that in 2022, NBC launched a subscription product focused just on true crime called Dateline Premium.
• NBC launched a fully dedicated streaming network for the newsmagazine called Dateline 24/7 in 2021.
• "Dateline" has ranked as the No. 1 True Crime podcast for 40 consecutive months based on global downloads tracked by Podtrac.

The big picture: Dateline's expansion serves as a blueprint for other NBC franchises, like "Meet the Press" and "Today," looking to expand from linear TV to younger audiences on digital platforms.

BuzzFeed is creating its own social media platform as a joyful alternative to addictive social media feeds, CEO Jonah Peretti said in an interview with Axios.

Why it matters: If the experiment works, it will put BuzzFeed "in a totally different kind of business, where it's primarily a tech company and a new kind of social media company," Peretti said.

• Peretti says the experiment would allow BuzzFeed's public market investors to get behind a speculative, but potentially lucrative, opportunity that's normally only afforded to venture capitalists.

Driving the news: Similar to apps like Midjourney, BF Island will allow users to use AI to create and share content around their interests.

• It will have a freemium model, where simpler features are available for free and more advanced features are available with a subscription, Peretti noted.

Reality check: Peretti has repeatedly shared his vision for the future of digital publishing and taken big swings at the expense of consistency within BuzzFeed's business model as he experiments.

• He dedicated his 2024 annual shareholders letter to generative AI. In 2023, Peretti spoke to Axios about investing in independent creators. In 2021, he wrote about consolidating digital media brands.

The big picture: Today, BuzzFeed is a fraction of its size compared to when it went public in 2021, but it's leaner and more profitable.

• Following its IPO, which included the simultaneous acquisition of Complex, BuzzFeed had more than 1,500 employees.
• Its latest public headcount is 642, as of April 29, 2024. That's now likely even smaller given the company recently laid off 30 HuffPost staffers.

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TV is now the top platform for YouTube consumption in the U.S., according to a new memo from the platform's CEO Neal Mohan. Viewers, he said, watch over 1 billion hours of YouTube content on TVs daily.

Why it matters: YouTube is by far the largest contributor to overall streaming growth in the U.S., according to a new analysis from MoffettNathanson.

Between the lines: Its dominance in the living room has been a boon to its ad business, which hit a quarterly record of $10.5 billion for the last three months of 2024.

But, but, but: It's not just free, ad-supported content that's boosting YouTube's living room presence. With more than 8 million paid subscribers, YouTube TV is now one of the largest TV providers in the country.

What to watch: Building YouTube's TV experience will be a priority in 2025, Mohan noted.

• The company is working to enhance viewers' second screen experience that lets them use their phones to make a purchase or leave a comment on videos they watch on their TV sets.
• It's begun experimenting with a new feature called "Watch With," which enables creators to provide live commentary and real time reactions to games and events.

Fox Corp.'s acquisition of Red Seat Ventures, announced Monday, shows just how far TV news networks have come in embracing influencers.

Why it matters: Working with influencers can require news companies to cede some of their editorial control to independent voices.

• But with business pressure looming, more outlets are willing to take that risk.

Driving the news: Red Seat Ventures is a digital media firm that produces audio and video podcasts for mostly conservative internet personalities, such as former Fox News hosts Megyn Kelly, Bill O'Reilly and Tucker Carlson.

• Red Seat Ventures will sit within Tubi Media Group, which houses Fox's fast-growing free, ad-supported streaming service, Tubi.

State of play: Fox isn't alone. More TV networks are eyeing influencer deals to expand their reach to younger audiences.

• ESPN signed YouTube star Pat McAfee in a lucrative, landmark deal in 2023. It hired NBA scoop machine and influencer Shams Charania last year. The network launched a creator network in 2023 to give influencers unprecedented access to cover ESPN events for younger audiences.
• CBS Sports and its parent Paramount launched a creator studio to connect brands to sports influencers and creators.
• NBC tapped podcast star Alex Cooper to host a series of interactive watch parties for Peacock during the Olympics. MSNBC's Rachel Maddow signed a deal with NBCUniversal in 2022 to focus on podcasts and films over anchoring.

What we're watching: The embrace of personality-driven digital formats has allowed TV talent to take franchises with them when they exit or to launch new ones.

• Former "Meet The Press" anchor Chuck Todd retained the rights to his podcast, "The Chuck ToddCast," when leaving NBC News.
• Jim Acosta left CNN to launch a Substack newsletter two weeks ago. He joins a slew of other TV veterans, such as Mehdi Hasan and Chris Cillizza, in charting an entrepreneurial path on the platform.

Since President Trump began his political career in 2015, the number of media and defamation lawsuits involving him or his businesses as either the plaintiff or defendant quadrupled compared to the prior three decades, according to an analysis of public databases.

• By the numbers: Trump was involved in seven lawsuits related to media or defamation in the three decades prior to announcing his presidential bid on June 16, 2015, according to Axios' analysis.
• Since that date, that count jumped to 29.

What to watch: Trump has amended his lawsuit against CBS, doubling the damage claim from $10 billion to $20 million for what he claims was a deceptively edited interview of then-presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

• CBS' parent Paramount is awaiting regulatory approval for its merger with Skydance Media from the Federal Communications Commission, whose chair has also opened an investigation into the network over the same issue as Trump's suit.
• CBS News is considering settling a $10 billion lawsuit with Trump. Free speech experts argue CBS has a strong case.
• Settling the matter, some observers fear, would send a chilling message that people in power can use regulatory levers to punish a news company for coverage they don't like.

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