A thrilling conclusion to Super Bowl XLIX helped NBC pull in the top audience in TV history with 114.4 million viewers on Sunday night, passing the old mark set during last year’s Super Bowl of 112.2 million by 2%.
This marks the sixth straight year that the Super Bowl has drawn more than 100 million viewers.
The New England Patriots' 28-24 win to capture Tom Brady's fourth Lombardi trophy and dethrone the defending champion Seattle Seahawks drew a 47.5 household rating, the best in that measure since Super Bowl XX in 1986 and fourth-highest for any Super Bowl. The 47.5 was also the 9th best rating in TV history.
The halftime show with Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott also set a record with 118.5 million viewers, outgaining last year’s show by 3% featuring Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The post-Super Bowl episode of The Blacklist drew an 8.7 rating with adults 18-49, down two tenths from the composite rating of last year’s lead-out hour (Fox’s New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and down 24% from the 11.4 rating that New Girl posted directly behind the Super Bowl. The Blacklist also drew in 26.5 million total viewers; the show was the top entertainment telecast since last year’s Oscars.
Airing after The Blacklist, The Tonight Show posted its best numbers since Jimmy Fallon’s debut on Feb. 17, 2014 – which followed coverage of the Winter Olympics – with a 3.6 rating in the demo and 9.8 million total viewers.
