NEW YORK — The 97.5 million viewers who saw the New York Giants' last-minute victory against the New England Patriots made it the most-watched Super Bowl ever and second- biggest event in American television history.
Only the "MASH" series finale in 1983, with 106 million viewers, was seen by more people, Nielsen Media Research said Monday. Sunday's game eclips-ed the previous Super Bowl record of 94.08 million set when Dallas defeated Pittsburgh in 1996.
"You might like your equation going in, but you still need some breaks going your way," said Ed Goren, Fox sports president. The closeness of the game probably added a couple million viewers to the telecast's average; the audience peaked at about 105.7 million viewers between 9:30 and 10 p.m. – during the fourth quarter.
Last year's victory by Indianapolis over Chicago was seen by 93.2 million people, now the third-most popular Super Bowl.
An eye-popping 81 percent of all TV sets on in the Boston area Sunday were tuned in to the game. In New York the audience share was 67 percent.
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