2010 Super Bowl Becomes Most Watched Television Program in History as Ratings Go Through Roof

The 2010 Super Bowl ratings make it the most watched television program in history. Super Bowl XLIV had 106.5 million viewers according to Nielsen Media, smashing the old record of viewers for a single television program. The previous record was held by the series finale of M*A*S*H, which brought in 105.97 million viewers when it finally went off the air. The record had stood up for quite a long time, and had often been compared to sports records that people thought would never fall. Last year's Super Bowl seemed like it might get close, but finished with 'only' 98.7 million viewers when the final tally was calculated.

The 2010 Super Bowl now holds its place in television history, becoming the first television program to actually threaten the numbers that M*A*S*H put up back in 1983. Some might say that it is because of the increase of televisions across the country that the Super Bowl was able to surpass a hit television show, and they are probably pretty close to the mark. If it were calculated out, a higher percentage of television viewers still chose M*A*S*H over the 2010 Super Bowl in the end. Still, passing 100 million viewers is simply remarkable, and sets a new standard for what a network can do with a program such as this. The NFL is probably watching very closely as well and salivating at the fees that they could charge in the near future.

With these huge ratings numbers, the NFL may now hold an even more valuable bargaining chip when it comes to their next television contract. An increase in viewers will likely translate into an increase in profits for the network that airs the big game, and that could probably be seen in the $2.5 to $3 million price tag that CBS put on each of their commercials this year. Expect that price to shift upwards again next year, but it's also possible that the NFL and CBS got the perfect storm of two great teams that people really cared about. Does anyone really believe that more fans would tune in to watch a Miami vs. St. Louis Rams Super Bowl? Probably not.

References:

EW Estimates

ESPN Recap