In an era of ever-increasing fragmentation of TV audiences, there was no sign of it on Superbowl Sunday. The broadcast racked up the title as most watched event in television history, outperforming the previous record-holder, the 1983 season finale of M.A.S.H.
The “M-A-S-H” ratings record has proven as durable and meaningful in television history like Babe Ruth’s record of 714 home runs was in baseball topped by Hank Aaron.
“It’s significant for all of the members of the broadcasting community,” said Leslie Moonves, CBS Corp. CEO. “For anyone who wants to write that broadcasting is dead, 106 million people watched this program. You can’t find that anywhere else.”
The post-Superbowl show Undercover Boss also performed better than expectations, drawing 38.6 million viewers to become the third highest rated show after the Superbowl next to Friends and Survivor.
