NIELSEN: SUPER BOWL XLV SMASHED RATINGS RECORD

In its latest ratings update on Monday, Nielsen Media Research confirmed that Sunday’s Super Bowl XLV telecast has become the most-watched U.S. television program of all time. The newest preliminary figures indicate that the Fox telecast averaged 111.01 million viewers, versus 106.48 for last year’s game, an increase of 4.25 percent. Sunday’s game, in which the Pittsburgh Steelers staged a second-half rally but failed to overcome a strong lead by the Green Bay Packers who won 31-25, garnered a preliminary 48.6 rating and a 71 share. In a statement, David Hill, chairman of FOX Sports Media Group, said, “We had a great pregame show that led into a terrific broadcast featuring two of the NFL’s oldest, most storied franchises, with the outcome in doubt until the final minute. It all combined into a perfect storm that made television history.” The post-game show, which began at 10:15 p.m. drew an estimated 73.15 million viewers. But the first half of the special post-Super Bowl telecast of Glee dropped to 32.03 million. While that would ordinarily be considered a huge rating, it was significantly below other post Super Bowl specials, including last year’s Undercover Boss on CBS, which attracted 38.65 million viewers. Some writers had complained that Glee was not a good fit with the Super Bowl — even though Sunday’s episode offered a football theme.