Can Beyonce Top Madonna's Super Bowl Record?

Now that Beyoncé has been officially announced as the performer at the 2013 Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 3, can she top Madonna's record for most-watched U.S. telecast of all time?

The Material Girl's performance during this year's Super Bowl reached more than 116 million viewers, according to Nielsen, and was watched by more viewers than the game itself.

But advertising and branding executives think Beyoncé has appeal wider enough to draw an even bigger crowd. "She's one of the biggest stars in the world, music or otherwise. She's an incredible performer and is great with brands," Live Nation president Russell Wallach says. "The Super Bowl is an incredible marketing platform for any artist, and this puts her in front of the biggest worldwide television audience."

Ad time bookending the halftime show during the second and third quarters is already sold out, according to executives who spoke with Billboard, there's still potential for advertisers associated with Beyoncé to synch their spots based on their ad buys.


With Pepsi sponsoring the halftime show this year, it's possible the brand will tap Beyoncé, a previous pitchwoman, to make an encore appearance in an ad. Thirty-second spots for the 2013 telecast, which will air on CBS, are expected to match and potentially exceed the rates of $3.7 million to $3.8 million advertisers paid last year.

Beyoncé could potentially leverage the Super Bowl to debut new music, as Madonna did last year with single "Give Me All Your Lovin'," featuring Nicki Minaj and M.I.A., which later debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. But there's also high precedent for halftime performers to experience a major spike in catalog sales.

For example, Madonna's catalog songs surged by 214% in the week after the Super Bowl, when hits compilation Celebration re-entered the Billboard 200 at No. 24 with 16,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. If Beyoncé turns in a stellar performance, she'll most likely see a similar bounce.

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