Super Bowl XLVI Breaks U.S. Viewership Records

NEW YORK: Last night’s broadcast of Super Bowl XLVI averaged 111 million viewers, according to preliminary results from The Nielsen Company, breaking records as the most-watched TV program of all time in the U.S.

Last year’s Super Bowl on CBS drew an average of 106 million viewers, and was, at the time, the most-viewed telecast in U.S. TV history, followed by the 1983 finale of M*A*S*H. Last night’s game was viewed in 53.3 million households, with a preliminary 46.0 U.S. household rating.

“Super Bowl XLVI caps what is arguably the most successful season that any sports league has ever had,” said Pat McDonough, Nielsen‘s senior VP of insights and analysis. “The number of people watching NFL games has never been higher, with 24-percent more people watching the average NFL game this year than just five years ago. The Super Bowl continues to be in a category of its own, with an appeal that transcends sports and extends even to the commercials. Because of the cliff-hanger nature of the game, viewers were tuning in until the very end, driving viewing levels to new heights.”

The Voice, which debuted in its second season last night directly following the Super Bowl, also had a strong showing. The figures for the 18-to-49 demo were the best in six years, though the 37.6 million viewers still did not match Undercover Boss’s 38.7 million two years ago. In total viewers, The Voice marks NBC’s best post-Super Bowl program since Friends on January 28, 1996.