When it comes to the ratings for Super Bowl XLVI, the numbers were appropriately giant.
According to the Nielsen fast nationals released on Monday afternoon, the New York Giants’ victory over the New England Patriots was seen by 111.3 million total viewers, edging out last year’s match-up (which drew an even 111 million) to become the most-watched television program in U.S. history.
The Top 5 most-watched programs in U.S. TV history now stack up like this:
1 | Super Bowl XLVI, NBC (111.3 million total viewers)
2 | Super Bowl XLV, Fox (111.0 million)
3 | Super Bowl XLIV, CBS (106.5 million)
4 | M*A*S*H series finale, CBS (106.0 million)
5 | Super Bowl XLIII, NBC (98.7 million)
With a 47.0 overnight rating and a 71 share (up 2 percent from Super Bowl XLV), this year’s Big Game stands as the highest-rated Super Bowl since 1986 (when the Bears played the Patriots).
As for the Season 2 premiere The Voice that led out of the Super Bowl: It averaged 37.6 million total viewers and a 16.3 demo rating, making it the highest-rated entertainment program in six years (since Grey’s Anatomy‘s own apres-Super Bowl outing). What’s more, The Voice improved on Glee‘s year-ago post-Super Bowl showcase by 47 percent in the 18-49 demo, and was up 1 percent versus the rating Undercover Boss pulled in the plum spot in 2012.
