Super Bowl 44 most watched television event ever

[jal41]

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/saints-colts-super-bowl-most-watched-telecast/story?id=9780233

Super Bowl 44 has dethroned the 1983 series finale of MASH as the most watched television event in American history.

 

[Markxxx]

I wonder if this had anything to do with the bad snowstorm in the East. Maybe more people watched it as they had no where else to go?

 

[WPPCProductions]

I'm very supprized it got a high overnight ratings,that good for CBS,
It was not the Giants,Dallas Cowboys,N.E. Patriots or any other high powered teams playing the game.Now a little off topic,Lets see if NBC Winter Olympics games will pull in the bacon for the peacock to get its new feathers.Ya they have to pay Jay and Conan for all the crap they pulled with their employer.oh will ,thats a whole other topic.

 

[EricStein]

I wonder how many more viewers there would have been if Brett Favre and the Vikings were the team representing the NFC?

I had no interest in this year's game (two teams I don't care about, no buzz factor) and I didn't watch it. However, whenever I don't watch the game, the ratings go up!

 

[mjlarochelle]

I think it had at least a little bit to do with New Orleans and the Hurricane Katrina recovery. Many miles away where I was watching, quite a few people were cheering for New Orleans because they wanted to see something positive happen for the city.

 

[wrsg915fm]

Being a diehard Steelers fan, I had to root for the other 'Black and Gold.'

This is about as good a 'storybook' ending as one can get. Kudos to "The Big Easy," winners of the "Big Game"!

 

[dustintv]

It should be noted that while Sunday's Super Bowl broke the record for most watched program of all time, it didn't beat "M*A*S*H's" record of highest-rated program of all time. 60.2 percent of U.S. households watched M*A*S*H in 1983, compared with Super Bowl XLIV's 45 percent. 1977's broadcast of "Roots, Part VIII" (ABC) and 1976's broadcast of "Gone With the Wind" (NBC) also beat the latest Super Bowl in terms of ratings, though not the number of viewers.

In other words, M*A*S*H still rules by a technicality.

 

[Lazy J]

It should be noted that while Sunday's Super Bowl broke the record for most watched program of all time, it didn't beat "M*A*S*H's" record of highest-rated program of all time. 60.2 percent of U.S. households watched M*A*S*H in 1983, compared with Super Bowl XLIV's 45 percent. 1977's broadcast of "Roots, Part VIII" (ABC) and 1976's broadcast of "Gone With the Wind" (NBC) also beat the latest Super Bowl in terms of ratings, though not the number of viewers.

Keep in mind, we didn't have NEARLY the number of channels in 1983 that we have available now. If you factor the number of channels into your equation, you might have a very different number. In 1983, 219 million viewers divided by 4 channels, you can get 60% of the viewers pretty easily. Today, 290 million viewers divided by oh, 150 channels, not very easy to pull in even 45% of the viewers.

See, you can slice the numbers either way!

 

[landtuna]

In other words, M*A*S*H still rules by a technicality.

Not a technicality. A different statistic.

 

[oldvnewschool]

I'm not suprised.

I knew the day would come when a Super Bowl will become the single most watch event in U.S. TV history.

It was just a matter of when and how.

The bad storm in the east reminds of me of how the 1979 Daytona 500 got most of it's viewers when there was a blizzard that year.

Not to mention a compelling game right on up to the end.

I just wish the halftime show had the same excitement ;D!

 

[trusty]

I wonder if this had anything to do with the bad snowstorm in the East. Maybe more people watched it as they had no where else to go?

Nope. It had to do with the bad storm in New Orleans just a few years ago - one that left its football team homeless. The "biggest football game" had viewers it normally would not have had because of the bigger-than-life story attached to it.


Downright amazing.

 

[imhomerjay]

In other words, M*A*S*H still rules by a technicality.

Not a technicality. A different statistic.

Indeed. Not entirely unlike the "biggest box office take ever" stats trotted out every so often, which of course ignore inflation. Not to say those hauls aren't impressive, any more than the remarkable rating for the Super Bowl was, because they are. But when you adjust for inflation, some of those record-breakers slide down a notch or two, just as factoring in the increase in TV households over more than a generation lends some context to this scenario. It doesn't diminsh either one, just provides a more balanced comparison.

 

[benwolf]

I wonder if this had anything to do with the bad snowstorm in the East. Maybe more people watched it as they had no where else to go?

By that logic, networks across the board would have shown ratings increases. Instead, other networks had even more of a freefall. NBC had a 1 share that night.
As for the claims that a higher audience viewing share trumps audience numbers, you could then say I Love Lucy's baby episode is the all-time champ.
No way around it, this Superbowl's numbers were really amazing.