Click photo to enlarge
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees celebrates with
his son Baylen and wife Brittany after winning the NFL
Super Bowl XLIV football game against the Indianapolis
Colts in Miami, Sunday, February 7, 2010. Photo by AP.
The New Orleans Saints' victory over Indianapolis in the
Super Bowl was watched by more than 106 million people,
surpassing the 1983 finale of
M-A-S-H to become
the most-watched program in U.S. television history, the
Nielsen Co. says.
Compelling story lines involving the city of New Orleans and
its ongoing recovery from Hurricane Katrina and the attempt
at a second Super Bowl ring for Indianapolis quarterback
Peyton Manning propelled the viewership. Football ratings
have been strong all season.
"It was one of those magical moments that you don't often see
in sports," said Sean McManus, president of CBS News and
Sports.
Nielsen estimated Monday that 106.5 million people watched
Sunday's Super Bowl. The M-A-S-H record was 105.97
million.
The viewership estimate obliterated the previous record
viewership for a Super Bowl - last year's game between
Arizona and Pittsburgh. That game was seen by 98.7 million
people, Nielsen said.
The M-A-S-H record has proven as durable and
meaningful in television as Babe Ruth's record of 714 home
runs was in baseball until topped by Hank Aaron. Ultimately,
it may be hard to tell which program was really watched by
more people. There's a margin for error in such numbers, and
Nielsen's Monday estimate was preliminary, and could change
with a more thorough look at data due Tuesday.
"It's significant for all of the members of the broadcasting
community," said Leslie Moonves, CBS Corp. CEO. "For anyone
who wants to write that broadcasting is dead, 106 million
people watched this program. You can't find that anywhere
else."
Moonves predicted CBS will earn more in advertising revenue
than in any other Super Bowl. The good ratings for the game
and football in general also set CBS and other football
broadcasters up well when selling advertising for next
season, he said.
The Nielsen estimate also drew some congratulations from Alan
Alda, the star of M-A-S-H, and the slugger whose
record was beaten.
"If the 'M-A-S-H' audience was eclipsed, it was probably due
in large part to the fact that the whole country is rooting
for New Orleans to triumph in every way possible," Alda said.
"I am, too, and I couldn't be happier for them. I love that
city."
There are more American homes with television sets now (114.9
million) than there were in 1983 (83.3 million). An estimated
77 percent of homes with TVs on were watching "M-A-S-H" in
1983, compared with the audience share of 68 for the Super
Bowl.
Nielsen also measures only the United States, and it's
possible some World Cup soccer games were seen more
worldwide. Accurate measurement of television audiences
outside the United States is spotty at best.
Alda also wondered whether the numbers were too close to
declare a new champion. He thinks Nielsen didn't take into
account large numbers of people watching M-A-S-H
communally, which is often the case for football games, too.
"Not to say I'm competitive, but in part we are talking about
sports," he said. "And I actually AM competitive."
