This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, but Green Bay’s Super Bowl XLV win against the Steelers was the most watched event in American TV history. As some voices (especially soccer folks) have pointed out, the game isn’t the most watched game in the world – the World Cup Final continually holds that honor. However, 111 million viewers at home is still fairly impressive. From Nielsen…
“According to preliminary results from The Nielsen Company, last night’s broadcast of Super Bowl XLV on FOX had an average audience of 111 million viewers, surpassing last year’s Super Bowl, and thereby breaking the record, yet again, for the most watched television program of all time. The game was viewed in 53.3 million households, with a preliminary 46.0 U.S. household rating.
‘Super Bowl XLV caps what is arguably the most successful season that any sports league has ever had,’ said Pat McDonough, ‘The number of people watching NFL games has never been higher, with 24% 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.'”
At least Christina Aguilera and A-Rod should take heart that their screw-ups and embarrassing moments were caught by over 111 million of their closest friends. (By the way, we need some more comments on Create the Caption starring A-Rod, rise up AA Nation!) The NFL broke the record set by last year’s Super Bowl, which was watched by 106.5 million people. It’s amazing how NFL viewership keeps growing at an astronomical rate, especially when so many other sports struggle on TV. With ratings continuing to go up across the board, it’s hard to envision a scenario where there is an NFL lockout that takes a huge bite out of their popularity.
