Record 106.5 million Americans watch Super Bowl

[cajuncocoa]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A record 106.5 million Americans watched the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts in Sunday's Super Bowl game, setting a new high for any U.S. television broadcast, early ratings showed on Monday.

The National Football League championship, broadcast on CBS, beat the record held by the 1983 finale of the "M*A*S*H" comedy series, which had 106 million viewers, CBS and Nielsen Media said.


The previous record for a Super Bowl was the 98.7 million Americans who tuned in to see the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals in 2009.

TV audiences for the Super Bowl have grown for each of the past four years, demonstrating why advertisers paid up to $3 million for a 30-second commercial during Sunday's more than three-hour broadcast.


http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6174AY20100208?feedType=RSS&feedName=sportsNews&rpc=22&sp=true

 

[Rampage]

that's suprising since the game itself sucked.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

I don't think the game sucked... Just proves the NFL is still king.

 

[Cowboy Brian]

I don't think the game sucked... Just proves the NFL is still king.

I still hold true to my belief that unless there is a strike, the NFL will rule til around 2020-2025 and then the NHL will rule as the most popular sport in the USA


I made the bet with my friend in 2004, he said Wrestling would become the most popular, so I think I have more of a shot :laugh2:

 

[big dog cowboy]

I still hold true to my belief that unless there is a strike, the NFL will rule til around 2020-2025 and then the NHL will rule as the most popular sport in the USA

 

[dadymat]

I still hold true to my belief that unless there is a strike, the NFL will rule til around 2020-2025 and then the NHL will rule as the most popular sport in the USA


I made the bet with my friend in 2004, he said Wrestling would become the most popular, so I think I have more of a shot :laugh2:

reminds me of a friend of mine about 20 years ago telling me that in 15 years soccer will dominate the USA like it does every where else......


i laughed at him too

 

[Aikbach]

More people than ever have televisions and the population is bigger than ever so these "biggest ever" stats are silly, it will be broken next year and the year after and so forth.

 

[Cowboy Brian]

reminds me of a friend of mine about 20 years ago telling me that in 15 years soccer will dominate the USA like it does every where else......


i laughed at him too

MLB won't rule again Nfls time will run out NBA sucks

That leaves NHL wrestling and ufc

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

More people than ever have televisions and the population is bigger than ever so these "biggest ever" stats are silly, it will be broken next year and the year after and so forth.

So it finally took from 1983 to 2010 for people to get enough televisions to break the record. :laugh2:

 

[burmafrd]

NHL. Soccer. what a joke. minor sports in the US and will remain that way.

 

[BLT]

NHL. Soccer. what a joke. minor sports in the US and will remain that way.

i wouldnt sleep on soccer.. in the past few years the popularity of the sport has risen tremendously in the United States, yes the MLS sucks but interest in overseas soccer has become very high. Thats why a lot of the big clubs in Europe play friendly's (exhibition games) here before their season starts because they know its a huge untapped market.

 

[Don Corleone]

So it finally took from 1983 to 2010 for people to get enough televisions to break the record. :laugh2:

Baby steps my friend, baby steps!

 

[Aikbach]

So it finally took from 1983 to 2010 for people to get enough televisions to break the record. :laugh2:

US Population in 1983 233.7 million, projected televisions in US 180 million.
2009 US Population 305 million, projected televisions in US households 330 million.

Super Bowl ratings in 1992, 1995 and 2008 were all in the past claimed as record holders for audience.

Plus in 1983 there were three network stations, no internet, DirectTV or even widespread basic cable though some subscribers had individual cable channels such as HBO and ESPN.

M*A*S*H had a captive audience that basically only the Super Bowl will ever replicate and surpass.

Because of the spike in television ownership and the fact no less than 170 additional Americans walk the earth the record is fleeting and has little noteworthiness.

Similar to how people watch box office numbers get broke every summer, inflation in prices distorts the numbers, Avatar actually ranks 26 all time if adjusted for inflation.

It would be more impressive to compare percentage of the US population that watched M*A*S*H versus Super Bowls.

Just as ticket sales ought to be the real judge of box office champions and not inflated ticket prices.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

US Population in 1983 233.7 million, projected televisions in US 180 million.
2009 US Population 305 million, projected televisions in US households 330 million.

Super Bowl ratings in 1992, 1995 and 2008 were all in the past claimed as record holders for audience.

Plus in 1983 there were three network stations, no internet, DirectTV or even widespread basic cable though some subscribers had individual cable channels such as HBO and ESPN.

M*A*S*H had a captive audience that basically only the Super Bowl will ever replicate and surpass.

Because of the spike in television ownership and the fact no less than 170 additional Americans walk the earth the record is fleeting and has little noteworthiness.

Similar to how people watch box office numbers get broke every summer, inflation in prices distorts the numbers, Avatar actually ranks 26 all time if adjusted for inflation.

It would be more impressive to compare percentage of the US population that watched M*A*S*H versus Super Bowls.

Just as ticket sales ought to be the real judge of box office champions and not inflated ticket prices.

Yet again it took almost 20 years to break that record and I don't think the world exploded in population and tv set buying public all in the last year...in other words the other Superbowls of the past few years should have broken the record if your theory held water.

So initially you said it was more people and more TVs, but less TVs and Less people ( by your own numbers) watched mash than any other program until this year and again I don't think there was a one year explosion in TV buying and population.

 

[dadymat]

MLB won't rule again Nfls time will run out NBA sucks

That leaves NHL wrestling and ufc

to me Nascar and UFC are the fastest rising sports .....NHL is already in decline and it never was that popular .....

 

[Aikbach]

Yet again it took almost 20 years to break that record and I don't think the world exploded in population and tv set buying public all in the last year...in other words the other Superbowls of the past few years should have broken the record if your theory held water.

So initially you said it was more people and more TVs, but less TVs and Less people ( by your own numbers) watched mash than any other program until this year and again I don't think there was a one year explosion in TV buying and population.

It is simple math, nearly half the country of 233 million watched M*A*S*H on 180 million tv sets and a projected 106 million out of a 300 million + nation with more televisions than people watched a Super Bowl.

Proportionally the Super Bowl isn't the most watched event and secondly the Super Bowl audience has been rising steadily, the issue is moot, next year the Super bowl will break this year's Super Bowl and so forth.

 

[Aikbach]

To top it off Nielsen is reporting this polling data of viewership:

Shifts in how Americans watch TV: Social media has created a national water cooler that lets viewers share thoughts as they watch a show, says Joe Flint in the Los Angeles Times: "Someone watching the game alone can now feel like they are watching it at a party without having to worry about cleaning up dishes later."

The weather: A disproportionate number of East Coasters were snowbound, with nothing to do but watch the Super Bowl, says Lisa de Moraes in the Washington Post. "Thanks to Mother Nature," the biggest single-city audience, after New Orleans itself, was the excessively wintry Washington. D.C. where 56 percent of TV homes were "glued to the game."

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

To top it off Nielsen is reporting this polling data of viewership:

Shifts in how Americans watch TV: Social media has created a national water cooler that lets viewers share thoughts as they watch a show, says Joe Flint in the Los Angeles Times: "Someone watching the game alone can now feel like they are watching it at a party without having to worry about cleaning up dishes later."

The weather: A disproportionate number of East Coasters were snowbound, with nothing to do but watch the Super Bowl, says Lisa de Moraes in the Washington Post. "Thanks to Mother Nature," the biggest single-city audience, after New Orleans itself, was the excessively wintry Washington. D.C. where 56 percent of TV homes were "glued to the game."

:laugh2: :laugh1: Ok

 

[Don Corleone]

Proportionally the Super Bowl isn't the most watched event and secondly the Super Bowl audience has been rising steadily, the issue is moot, next year the Super bowl will break this year's Super Bowl and so forth.

My money is on it being over the 125 million mark if the Cowboys are in it. Most of America doesn't care about the Colts and Saints.

Heck, my relatives in India called during the game, and asked me who the heck this team is dressed in black and gold. They had never even heard of them. They turned the TV off after noticing who was (or wasn't) playing.

 

[RazorOye]

My money is on it being over the 125 million mark if the Cowboys are in it. Most of America doesn't care about the Colts and Saints.

what were the viewing audiences in all of the previous Super Bowls in which the Cowboys played? Any idea?