It took 27 years, but something has finally knocked the finale of MASH off the top of the TV ratings pyramid.  When the show, starring Alan Alda as a war-weary, wisecracking doctor in the Korean War, went off the air in 1982, it was watched by 105 million people throughout the United States.  Despite population growth, the rise of cable TV and viewer fragmentation caused experts to believe that those ratings would never be beaten.  Sunday’s Super Bowl proved them wrong, catching 106.5 million viewers to become the most-watched program in history.  That’s a whole lot of couch potatoes at one time watching the same thing!

This has been a huge year ratings-wise for the NFL.  After all, the AFC and NFC championships were watched by the most people since 1998, so it’s not surprising that the battle between two of the best NFL quarterbacks and two of the most explosive NFL offenses might get some attention.  The fact that the New Orleans Saints bandwagon remains crowded four years after Hurricane Katrina no doubt pushed ratings over the edge and broke Nielsen rating records.

Tags: television, viewing records, Nielsen ratings, Super Bowl XLIV, the most-watched TV program in history, highest ratings in history, Super Bowl watched by 106.5 million people, New Orleans Saints, Drew Brees, sports, sporting events

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