Super Bowl XLV is Most-Watched TV Program Ever

Averaged a record-breaking 111 million viewers

By Andrea Morabito -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/7/2011 10:03:20 AM

Updated: Feb. 7, 3:55 p.m. ET

Super Bowl XLV Sunday night on Fox averaged 111 million total viewers, according to Nielsen fast-national ratings, making it the most-watched television program in U.S. history, overtaking last year's Super Bowl XLIV ratings record of 106.5 million viewers.

It is the fourth consecutive Super Bowl to set a viewership record. The game scored a 46.0/69 household rating/share, tying the 1996 Super Bowl as the highest rated Super Bowl since 1986.

A special episode of Glee airing from 10:39-11:45 p.m. posted an 11.1 rating with adults 18-49 and 26.8 million total viewers, its highest ratings ever. Compared to the last scripted program to air after the Super Bowl (The Office in 2009), Glee was up 1% in adults 18-49 and 17% in total viewers. It still fell short of the unscripted Undercover Boss that ran last year on CBS.

As expected, the audience for the other networks was small. ABC had a 0.5 and 0.7 for two hours of America's Funniest Home Videos and the movie Knocked Up earned a 0.8.

CBS had a 0.7/1 overall for repeats and 60 Minutes (0.5). NBC had a 0.3 and 0.4 for two hour of Who Do You Think You Are? and Dateline clocked a 0.9 from 9-11 p.m.

Fast national numbers will be in later this afternoon.