Only the M*A*S*H series finale and Super Bowl XXX had larger audiences than Sunday’s Super Bowl XLI. The game, which the Colts won 29-17, drew 93.2 million viewers — more than the viewers for the Daytona 500 (19 mil), NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game (18 mil), BCS National Championship Game (29 mil) and the most viewed games of the World Series (18 mil) and NBA Finals (16 mil) — combined.
This massive audience follows a year of ratings increases virtually across the board — especially in the regular season. The AFC and NFC Championship games were each up dramatically over their lackluster 2006 counterparts, and the Dallas Cowboys/Seattle Seahawks Wildcard game was the highest rated Saturday Wildcard game in four years.
Now the question becomes, when does the NFL finally bump M*A*S*H from its long held position as the most watched television show of all time? It would seem to be only a matter of time before a Super Bowl drew more than 100 million viewers — though even then it would take five million more to bump the series finale of M*A*S*H from the top spot.
Other facts and figures:
- The game drew a 35.1 rating in adults 18-49, the most important demographic in television.
- Criminal Minds, which followed the game, drew only 26 million viewers — down significantly from the 38 million viewers ABC’s post-game edition of Grey’s Anatomy drew last year.
- The Late Late Show, which used to feature former SportsCenter and The Daily Show host Craig Kilborn, drew its largest numbers in its 12 year history, scoring over 5 million viewers.
- The game had the highest rating for a Super Bowl since 2000; the 42.6 rating made the game the only Super Bowl in the past seven years to have a rating above a 41.
