Super Bowl breaks MASH viewership record, CBS says
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Sunday's Super Bowl, in which the New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts, broke a 27-year-old viewership record set by the comedy series MASH, CBS executives said Monday.
The network confirmed a report in the Hollywood Reporter that said the Saints 31-17 victory beat the record set in 1983 with MASH's series finale, also broadcast by CBS. /quotes/comstock/13*!cbs/quotes/nls/cbs (CBS 12.80, -0.15, -1.16%) Executives didn't confirm the figures, but the entertainment-trade publication said Sunday's game in Miami was seen by 106.5 million viewers.
MASH's last episode drew in almost 106 million viewers, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Super Bowl XLIV was the first to crack the 100-million viewer mark.
Earlier on Monday, CBS said it averaged a 46.4% rating, or the proportion of all households watching the game, in its overnight metered-market ratings. The network's share, or cut of homes with their televisions turned on, was 68%, CBS said in a statement.
The metered market ratings check overnight performance in 56 major cities. They were the highest for a Super Bowl since the 1987 game, when the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos.
These latest figures say viewership is up by 8% from last year's contest between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals, according to the network. That game, which went down to the wire, was seen by 98.7 million viewers. See highlights of the Super Bowl ads.
Thanks to an interception late in the fourth quarter by New Orleans cornerback Tracy Porter, the Saints thwarted a drive by quarterback Peyton Manning and the Colts that could have tied the game. Porter ran back the interception 74 yards for a touchdown, putting the Saints ahead by two touchdowns with just a few minutes left to play.
Manning, the regular season's most valuable player in the league, tried to bring the Colts back, but his efforts fell short when a pass fell incomplete on fourth down with less than a minute to play.
As a result, New Orleans won and its quarterback, Drew Brees, took MVP honors for the game. The victory completed the Saints' long quest for their first championship; the team entered the league in 1967 as an expansion franchise. Adding to the drama was New Orleans' struggle to recover since Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005 and flooded three-fourths of the city.
Not surprisingly, New Orleans posted the highest ratings of all metered markets, with a 56.3% rating and 82% share. Snowbound Washington, D.C., was second with a 56% rating and 73% share.
Indianapolis came in fourth, behind Nashville, Tenn., with a 54.4% rating and 73% share.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hig...ays-2010-02-08
GEAUX SAINTS!!!
