Top Of The Charts

Super Bowl XLIV Stands As Most-Viewed TV Show

Meet the new boss. The NFL eclipsing “MASH” as the most-viewed television program is the early sports business story of the year and adds another feather in the cap of the most popular sports property in North America. While many were predicting a record number, it is still an astonishing figure in the face of fragmentation. The reasons for the high tune-in are varied -- great storylines, the appeal of Peyton Manning and the Saints' story, a massive snowstorm that left much of the mid-Atlantic homebound (DC was the surprising No. 2 market). From the experts, the reasons vary as well. CBS’ Les Moonves says, “People want to share communal experiences,” while Syracuse Univ. professor Robert Thompson says there is “still this appetite to share the same cultural glue” provided by the Big Game. Ad buyer Brad Adgate calls the Super Bowl “the last media event,” while CBS’ Sean McManus calls the NFL “the perfect television property." McManus: "The rest keeps getting fractionalized and the NFL keeps getting more appealing to viewers. It's hard to explain the phenomena."