Over the past several decades, the Super Bowl has become The Game -- the game advertisers long to be a part of, the game young athletes dream of, and the game that American households watch without fail. Well, that reputation was sustained on Sunday when the record books got a new number scrawled into them:
Super Bowl XLVI was watched by an average of 111.3 million viewers, setting a new viewership record.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) February 6, 2012
Giants 21-17 win in Super Bowl sets viewership record of 111.3 million up a notch from last year.
— Richard Sandomir (@RichSandomir) February 6, 2012
The Super Bowl, which ended with a dramatic 21-17 New York Giants win over the New England Patriots, had more eyes on it than any television event ever, but it still failed to break the Nielsen rating record of 47.9, posting instead a near-record 47.8 rating. The previous viewership record was at 111 million viewers, set during the 2011 Super Bowl.
For more on the Patriots and their Super Bowl run, check out SB Nation's Patriots blog, Pats Pulpit as well as SB Nation Boston. For more on the Giants and their Super Bowl appearance, visit Giants blog Big Blue View and SB Nation New York. For all news and information regarding Super Bowl XLVI, please stay tuned to SB Nation's dedicated Super Bowl hub, and for more on the commercials that aired Sunday, check out the Super Bowl commercials stream.