If Sunday’s Super Bowl XLV truly was the last NFL game for the foreseeable future, the league went out with a bang.
Super Bowl XLV, in which the Packers defeated the Steelers for their first Super Bowl victory since the 1996-97 season, earned a 47.9 overnight rating on FOX Sunday night — up 3% from last year (NO/IND: 46.4, CBS), and up 14% from 2009 (PIT/ARI: 42.1, NBC).
The 47.9 is tied as the highest overnight in Super Bowl history, matching the record set by Super Bowl XXI in the 1986-87 season (NYG/DEN: 47.9, CBS).
If Sunday’s game remains ahead of last year’s pace when the final numbers are released, it would rank as the most-viewed television program in U.S. history. Last year’s Super Bowl finished with a 45.0 rating and 106.480 million viewers.
In addition, it would mark the fourth straight year of record Super Bowl viewership.
For some perspective on the big numbers, no Super Bowl drew a 45.0 overnight during the 2000s (2000-2009). Already in the 2010s, the game has topped a 46.0 overnight twice.
Of note, the Packers’ win had a 71 share, meaning that 71% of the televisions in use in the metered markets were tuned to the game. The share is the highest in the metered markets since 1982.
(FOX press release via TV By The Numbers)
