If there’s one thing you can count on it’s Super Bowl ratings. NBC announced that once again, as has happened 18 out of the last 20 years, the Super Bowl brought in ratings above 40. That’s pretty damn impressive. There was a six percent decline from last year’s game, but the hubbub prior to this year’s event was that the game wouldn’t be too good. Boy were they all wrong.
I find it funny that MASH’s finale still reigns as the highest rated TV event ever, but each year the Super Bowl gives it a run. Approximately 90 to 95 million people watched last night’s game, 109 million watched the MASH finale if you’re counting. Things could have been worse for NBC as the Steelers took an early lead and it looked like things would be one sides, also known as boring. But the Cardinals made a great comeback and likely kept people watching. The last second touchdown by the Steelers kept football fans glued to their armchairs, chips poised over the remnants of guacamole dip, as the seconds ticked away.
While the ratings were “average” for a Super Bowl I think it’s important to note just how much this game trounces everything else that airs on TV for the year. NBC’s last real big win for a normal show was back in 2004 with an episode of ER, and that was a fraction of the viewership the Super Bowl normally gets.
