Air the most-watched program in TV history, and you’ll win the weekly ratings race.
The Super Bowl sent CBS to an overwhelming victory, according to ratings released this morning. the New Orleans Saints’ triumph over the Indianapolis Colts surpassed the “M*A*S*H” finale to become the most-watched program in U.S. TV history.
CBS averaged 26.2 million viewers in prime time. Here’s how the other broadcast networks fared: Fox with 9.1 million, ABC with 7 million, NBC with 4.7 million and the CW with 1.9 million. And they finished in the same order in the 18-to-49 age group.
Here are the week’s most-watched programs:
1. Super Bowl, CBS, 106.5 million
2. Super Bowl postgame, CBS, 75.5 million
3. “Undercover Boss,” CBS, 38.7 million
4. “American Idol” Tuesday, Fox, 24.7 million
5. “American Idol” Wednesday, Fox, 21 million
6. “NCIS,” CBS, 19.2 million
7. “Two and a half Men,” CBS, 16.5 million
8. “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 16.4 million
9. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 15.5 million
10. “Criminal Minds,” CBS, 14.7 million
Here are the most popular series with the 18-to-49 age group:
2. Super Bowl postgame
3. “Undercover Boss”
4. “American Idol” Tuesday
5. “American Idol” Wednesday
6. “Lost,” ABC
7. “The Big Bang Theory”
8. “Two and a half Men”
9. “House,” Fox
10. “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC