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On Review, NBC Reports, It Won Super Bowl XLIII

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By WALT BELCHER wbelcher@tampatrib.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 5, 2009

TAMPA - NBC has won the latest weekly Nielsen Media Research ratings race with the most-watched Super Bowl telecast ever, according to the network.

NBC's release of the Nielsen report shows the network averaged 89.9 million viewers Sunday in prime time (7 to 11 p.m.) during its telecast of Super Bowl XLIII from Tampa. That marks the highest viewership for any network on any prime time night in people-meter history.

The report shows 151.6 million people watched all or some (at least six minutes) of the telecast of the game. An average of 98.7 million watched the whole game. That average tops last year's Super Bowl, previously the most-watched Super Bowl (97.5 million).
Super Bowl XLIII also was the second-most-watched television broadcast in TV history as far as average viewership. The 1983 series finale of "Mash," which averaged 106 million viewers, remains the most-watched television broadcast in history.

Among people ages 18 to 49, NBC averaged a 34.0 rating from 7 to 11 p.m., marking its best performance for any prime time night in more than 11 years, since Sunday, Jan. 25, 1998, when a 35.5 was recorded when the network last broadcast a Super Bowl.

NBC won the week in all key measures, averaging a 7.8 rating, 20 share among ages 18 to 49 and 21.6 million viewers overall for the week of Jan. 26 through Sunday, according to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen.

Preliminary ratings results as of Monday had the national viewing average at 95 million, but the final tally boosted the total viewing audience. Most media outlets were reporting on Monday and Tuesday that Super Bowl XLIII fell short of 2008, but full ratings results tell a different story.

TV columnist Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654.

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