Super Bowl sets television record
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For the third consecutive year, the Super Bowl set a record as the most-watched television show in U.S. history.
The Nielsen Co. said Monday that an estimated 111.3 million people watched the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots, 21-17, Sunday night in Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. That narrowly beat the 111 million who watched Green Bay's victory a year ago against the Steelers.
NBC was blessed by a competitive game between two teams that played in one of the Super Bowl's most memorable contests four years ago, with one of them representing the largest media market in the country.
The game wasn't over until Tom Brady's last-second heave into the end zone dropped onto the turf. That play itself had the biggest audience of any play in the game, according to the digital video recorder maker Tivo. Nielsen said 117.7 million people were watching in the final half-hour of the game.
The previous two Super Bowls, along with the game two years ago between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts and the finale of "M• A• S• H" in 1983, are the only programs to exceed 100 million viewers in U.S. television history.
Madonna has some bragging rights, too. Her halftime show was seen by an estimated 114 million people -- a higher average than the game itself -- and was the most-watched Super Bowl halftime entertainment show on record, Nielsen said.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick confirmed that Josh McDaniels will be the team's offensive coordinator next season. McDaniels was brought in during the playoffs to serve as an "offensive assistant." He was widely seen as the heir to offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien, who was hired to replace the late Joe Paterno at Penn State.
First Published February 7, 2012 12:00 am
