Super Bowl XLVI sets TV viewership record
INDIANAPOLIS - Super Bowl XLVI on NBC was seen by a total audience of 166.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched show in the history of television in the United States, according to Neilsen ratings.
While the overnight Nielsen rating of 47.8 for the Giants' 21-17 victory over New England was down slightly from last year's record of 47.9, the total viewership was up from the 162.9 million who tuned in to watch the Packers beat the Steelers last season.
Super Bowls now occupy the top 21 shows on the all-time U.S. record list.
NBC's previous best rating was a 46.9 for the Super Bowl XX matchup between the Patriots and the Chicago Bears.
The Super Bowl also set a record for sports-related conversation on Twitter. The social media service reported a peak volume of 12,233 tweets per second about the game, topping the previous record of 9,420 tweets per second about the Broncos-Steelers AFC Wild Card game in January.
The game started with a 43.3 rating at kickoff, and built to a peak rating of 51.8 from 9:30-10:00 p.m. during the game's conclusion. Overall, the broadcast got high praise from writers, who appreciated strong camera work from the NBC crew and astute analysis from broadcasters Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth. Miami Herald writer Barry Jackson hailed NBC's work as "a blueprint for how a Super Bowl broadcast should be done.
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