Super Bowl surpasses ‘M-A-S-H’ finale as most-watched show ever

Super Bowl most watch TV show ever

NEW YORK — The Super Bowl was watched by more than 106 million people, surpassing the 1983 finale of “M-A-S-H” to become the most-watched program in television history.

The Nielsen Co. estimated Monday that 106.5 million people watched the New Orleans Saints upset the Indianapolis Colts. That beats the “M-A-S-H” finale, which had 105.97 million viewers in an era when there were fewer television sets.

Compelling story lines involving the city of New Orleans and its recovery from Hurricane Katrina and the quest for a second Super Bowl ring for Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning propelled the viewership.

The game also obliterated the previous record viewership for a Super Bowl — last year’s game between Arizona and Pittsburgh in which 98.7 million people watched.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

NEW YORK (AP) — The New Orleans Saints’ win over Indianapolis gave the Super Bowl its highest overnight ratings in 23 years.

That means, when final figures are released by the Nielsen Co. later Monday, there’s a strong likelihood the game will be the most-watched Super Bowl ever. Last year’s game between Pittsburgh and Arizona has that distinction, with 98.7 million viewers.

The quick measurement of the nation’s 55 biggest media markets gave the New Orleans-Indianapolis game on CBS a 46.4 rating. Last year’s game had an overnight measurement of 42.1. A ratings point represents 1,149,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation’s estimated 114.9 million TV homes.

The overnight ratings figure was the largest since the 1987 game between the New York Giants and Denver Broncos.

The top-rated market was New Orleans, as might be expected, but the second highest wasn’t Indianapolis. It was Washington, where a paralyzing snowstorm presumably kept many residents at home and in front of the TV.

Meanwhile, Dorito’s was a big winner in a measurement of interest in the commercials played during the Super Bowl. TiVo Inc. said the snack company’s ad featuring a boy telling a man to keep his hands off his chips and his mom was stopped and played back in 15 percent of homes with the digital video recorder.

The secretly filmed CBS promo with David Letterman, Jay Leno and Oprah Winfrey came in second, followed by the Snicker’s ad with Betty White and Abe Vigoda flattened in a football game.