Facebook said 60 million people turned their news feeds into Super Bowl central during the big game, with the halftime show, the final whistle and Lady Gaga‘s National Anthem performance being the biggest social moments on the network.
To put that in perspective, that means more than half the number of people watching the broadcast itself were turning to Facebook to talk about it. (Numbers from Nielsen indicate last night’s 111.9 million-viewer audience was 2 percent shy of 2015’s record matchup, when 114.4 viewers tuned in.)
Predictably, the social network said that Sunday’s activity reached peaks during the high points of the broadcast. It saw more than 200 million posts, comments and likes, with the most interaction centered on the halftime show featuring Beyoncé, Coldplay, and Bruno Mars. The final whistle was No. 2, and Lady Gaga‘s performance of the national anthem rounded out the top three.
Facebook also said Coldplay dominated interactions related to the halftime performance. The British rockers were discussed by 6 million people in 9.3 million interactions, compared with Beyoncé’s 5.2 million people and 8.8 million interactions.
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning trounced even the halftime headliners. In the midst of the Broncos’ win and speculation that it may be his final game, 10 million people drove 19 million interactions about the future Hall of Famer. Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was next, with half as many people generating 8 million interactions.
Instagram, the company’s photo-sharing app, had 38 million people drive 155 million interactions related to Super Bowl 50 there.
But just as the latest Super Bowl couldn’t quite beat 2015’s record-setting TV viewership, Facebook action came up short too. Last year’s matchup between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks also holds the record for activity on the social network.