Early numbers:
Third-best Super Bowl ever
Averages a 47.8 metered-market household rating
By Toni Fitzgerald
Feb 6, 2012
We won't know for a few more hours whether this year's Super Bowl set a viewership record, but it certainly looks like a possibility.
Last night's game on NBC scored the third-highest overnight rating ever, averaging a 47.8 metered-market household rating and 71 share, according to Nielsen.
That was off by less than 1 percent from Super Bowl XLV last year and Super Bowl XXI, which both recorded a 47.9 rating.
That means that this year's game could well have tied or broken the record of 111 million set last year on Fox. Those numbers will be out later this afternoon.
Ratings peaked during the game's final half hour from 9:30 to 10 p.m., surging to a 51.8/73 as the New York Giants scored and the New England Patriots went on a final-minute drive. The Giants won 21-17.
Boston, home to the Patriots, scored the town's best-ever Super Bowl rating, a 56.7/81. New York City posted a 49.7/74, the town's second-best Super Bowl rating, behind only the Giants' first win in Super Bowl XXI.
NBC also saw promising results from the post-Super Bowl season two premiere of "The Voice," which averaged a 19.4/33, up 27 percent over Fox's special episode of "Glee" after last year's Super Bowl game.
That was a series record for "Voice" and up 120 percent over the show's previous series high.
***
Meanwhile, the fast national ratings show that NBC dominated the night, not surprisingly.
NBC was first for the night among 18-49s with a 32.0 average overnight rating and a 63 share. Univision was second at 0.9/2, Fox third at 0.8/1, ABC fourth at 0.7/1, CBS fifth at 0.6/1 and Telemundo sixth at 0.4/1.
As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback, which includes shows replayed before 3 a.m. the night before. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Forty-three percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
Also, ratings for NBC's Super Bowl telecast are approximate as fast nationals measure timeslot and not actual program data. They also do not account for time zone differences.
At 7 p.m. NBC led with a 37.3 for the Super Bowl, while ABC, CBS, Fox and Univision all tied for second at 0.5, ABC for a repeat of "America's Funniest Home Videos," CBS for an "Undercover Boss" rerun, Fox for repeats of "Bob's Burgers" and "Napoleon Dynamite," and Univision for "Rosa de Guadalupe." Telemundo was sixth with a 0.4 for "Pa'lante con Cristina."
NBC was first again at 8 p.m. with a 37.3 for football, with Univision second with a 0.9 for "Parodiando." ABC and Fox tied for third at a 0.8, ABC for more "Videos" and Fox for "The Simpsons" and "Cleveland Show" reruns, with CBS fifth with a 0.6 for a "60 Minutes" special and Telemundo sixth with a 0.3 for more "Cristina."
At 9 p.m. NBC was first with a 35.8 for more Super Bowl, followed by Univision with a 1.2 for another hour of "Parodiando." Fox was third with a 1.0 for repeats of "Family Guy" and "American Dad," ABC and CBS tied for fourth at 0.5, ABC for repeats of "The Middle" and CBS for a "CSI: Miami" rerun, and Telemundo was sixth with a 0.3 for the movie "El Diablo, el Santo y el Tonto."
NBC led again at 10 p.m. with a 17.4 for the end of the Super Bowl and start of "The Voice," while ABC moved to second with a 1.1 for repeats of "Modern Family." CBS was third with a 1.0 for an "NCIS" rerun, Univision fourth with a 0.9 for "Sal y Pimienta" and Telemundo fifth with a 0.5 for its movie.
Among households, NBC was first with a 37.0 average overnight rating and a 56 share. CBS was second at 2.7/4, ABC third at 1.6/2, Fox fourth at 1.1/2, Univision fifth at 1.2/2 and Telemundo sixth at 0.5/1.
Check back on the site later today for total viewer numbers for the Super Bowl.
|
|
|
