Inside the Halftime Music Strategy For the NFL’s International Games: ‘The Biggest Challenge Is Expectation’
Categoria: Musica
As the NFL expands with seven new halftime performances in seven cities around the world, the league's Tim Tubito breaks down their music strategy.
Por Billboard | 11/10/2026
When the NFL prepared to kick off its 2026-2027 season with an opening game in Melbourne, Australia on Sept. 10, Tim Tubito was gearing up for the beginning of his own journey of a season. The NFL’s senior director of global game presentation and entertainment, Tubito had an ambitious slate ahead of him: the league was planning its most ambitious international slate of games ever, with its largest group of major halftime headliners taking stages around the world. Related Jonas Brothers Bring Showtime to NFL Melbourne Game Hilary Duff to Receive Outstanding Pop Tour of the Year Award at 2026 Billboard Live Music Summit Judge Rules Woman Accused of Shooting at Rihanna & A$AP Rocky's Home Mentally Fit to Stand Trial So when the Jonas Brothers hit the halftime stage in Melbourne that day, it was the first of what will now become seven major halftime shows the NFL hosts in seven international cities on four different continents around the world, up from six shows in five cities last year, and marking the NFL’s major foray into this kind of event, having hosted the biggest stage in the world for decades in the annual Super Bowl Halftime Show. “The success we had last year internationally, frankly, that was kind of a test run,” Tubito tells Billboard . “We were going to see how that was received, and it was received really well. And so, as the league expands, the idea is to continue to expand with it.” With yesterday’s (Oct. 10) announcement that The Warning would be performing the game in Mexico City on Nov. 22, that expanded slate is now set: the Jonas Brothers played in Melbourne Sept. 10; Pedro Sampaio & Ricky Martin performed at the game in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sept. 27; Ayra Starr headlined the game in London between the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars earlier today (Oct. 11); and Burna Boy (Paris, Oct. 25), Manuel Turizo (Madrid, Nov. 8) and Cage the Elephant (Munich, Germany, Nov. 15) will round out the lineup. It’s a diverse, and global, array of stars, and helps to highlight the NFL’s further foray into the live music space, particularly as it expands around the globe. And that expansion is not slowing down. Here, Tubito speaks about the NFL’s music strategy, the challenges and complications that can arise from hosting these types of events in venues not specially built for them, and how these performances differ from that vaunted Super Bowl stage. “Music connects to memory for people,” Tubito says. “It’s that nostalgia thing. Beyond just the halftime show itself, music plays such a big part in what we do at an NFL game.” Related Sports & Music Power Players 2026 List The NFL started doing regular season halftime shows a few years ago. Why did that first get going? Specifically for the international games, back when we were only doing games in London, we tested out some smaller local halftime shows. And I think the expectation with international