Ratings: Super Bowl Becomes Most-Watched U.S. Program Ever, Beating M*A*S*H Finale
Drew Brees
If you watched Super Bowl XLIV, you're part of TV history: The game beat the M*A*S*H finale to become the most-viewed TV program ever in the United States.
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Sunday's matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts drew 106.5 million viewers. The M*A*S*H series finale, which had 105.97 million viewers, held the viewership record for 27 years.
This year's Super Bowl audience was up 8 percent over last year's game, which was watched by 98.7 million people.
"With all the memorable story lines going into Super Bowl XLIV, combined with the awesome power of the NFL, we are thrilled with this rating, and I am extremely proud of the way the entire CBS Television Network produced, sold and promoted the most-watched television show in history," Sean McManus, president of CBS news and sports, said in a statement.
One beneficiary of the ratings boost was CBS' new reality series Undercover Boss (38.6 million viewers), which had the largest post-Super Bowl audience since Grey's Anatomy in 2006. Boss' numbers mark the best new series premiere since 1987 and the best a new series has ever performed following a Super Bowl.