For Better or Werts : TV Worth Watching

THE RATINGS: Super Bowl tops all-time viewership

Wow. Seems that Who-Dat/resurrection-of-New Orleans storyline attracted the masses. And having Peyton Manning in the mix didn't hurt.

Sunday night's Super Bowl XLIV (that's 44 in non-pretentious language) scored more than 106 million viewers, Nielsen says, nudging out the 1983 finale of M*A*S*H as American TV's most-watched show ever.

CBS was crowing these details the day after:

02.08.2010
CBS SPORTS' COVERAGE OF SUPER BOWL XLIV IS MOST-WATCHED PROGRAM IN TELEVISION HISTORY

AVERAGE OF 106.5 MILLION WATCH NEW ORLEANS WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV AS GAME TOPS M*A*S*H FINALE IN 1983

Network Garners Fast National Household Rating/Share of 45.0/68 - Highest in 14 Years

CBS Sports' coverage of Super Bowl XLIV, featuring the NEW ORLEANS SAINTS' 31-17 win over the INDIANAPOLIS COLTS on Sunday, Feb 7 (6:31-9:50 PM, ET), was watched by a Nielsen estimated average of 106.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched program in television history, eclipsing the finale of M*A*S*H in 1983 (106 million).

The CBS Television Network's coverage of Super Bowl XLIV earned an average fast national household rating/share of 45.0/68, up +7% from last year's 42.0/64 (Pittsburgh-Arizona), making it the highest-rated Super Bowl in 14 years (1/28/96; 46.0/68; Dallas-Pittsburgh).

Last night's Super Bowl HH rating/share peaked at a 48.5/70 from 9:00-9:30 PM, ET with an average of 114.1 million viewers.

Nielsen estimates that CBS's coverage of Super Bowl XLIV was seen in-all-or part* by an estimated 153.4 million viewers, +1% higher than last year's previous high of 151.6 million (NBC).

[* = six minutes-or-more]

1 Comments

Colleen said:

Impressive numbers - why do I think it's more a result of people staying home to watch the game, rather than hitting the local bars or going to a party to watch?

Just sayin'. :)

February 8, 2010 5:02 PM

Name

Email Address

URL

Remember personal info?

Comments (You may use HTML tags for style)

Nothing personal, but prove to us that you are a human being, and not an evil automated computer bent on posting spam on this website. Type the characters you see in the picture below.

Watch 100,000 Movies Instantly on your TV

Diane Werts has been glued to the tube since she can remember, growing up in a household where the TV came on first thing in the morning and stayed on till bedtime and beyond. She worked for the USA Film Festival, then for The Dallas Morning News writing about everything from Shakespeare to macrame art to rock music (and has the hearing loss to prove it). She moved to New York's Newsday to edit their glossy TV magazine, then returned to writing about television, specializing in its stranger permutations. She's a past president of the Television Critics Association.

ARCHIVES

October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
March 2008
February 2008