Super Bowl draws a record 164.1 million viewers

A record 164.1 million viewers watched or sampled CBS' coverage of Super Bowl XLVII, up 3 percent from last year's 159.2 million for the Giants-Patriots matchup.

The number reflects how many U.S. viewers watched at least six minutes of the Ravens' 34-31 upset of the 49ers. The old Super Bowl record of 162.9 million was set in 2011, when the Packers beat the Steelers 31-25.

Nielsen reported the game scored a 48.1 rating and 71 share in its select measurement of big cities. That's 1 percent over a similar measurement in last year's game.

One ratings point represents 1,147,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 114.7 million TV homes. The share means that 71 percent of TVs that were on at the time were tuned to the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl has set a record for most-watched event in U.S. television history the past three years in a row.

The ratings figure did not include, at CBS' requrest, a 30-minute period when there was a partial power outage in the Superdome. During that time, the metered market rating was 46.5, nearly two full points behind the 45-minute period directly before it.

STATS LLC and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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