US Super Bowl TV ratings miss records but fourth all-time
HOUSTON — New England’s dramatic comeback victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51 drew the fourth-largest viewership in US television history but trailed the past two NFL championship spectacles.
Tom Brady led the greatest victory rally in Super Bowl history, sparking the Patriots from a 25-point deficit on Sunday to a 34-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in the first Super Bowl requiring overtime.
In Monday, reports from US audience measuring service Nielsen and telecaster Fox, Super Bowl 51 — including a stunning halftime show by Lady Gaga — lured 111.3 million viewers.
That was down from the audience average of 111.9 million who watched last year’s Super Bowl on CBS as Peyton Manning led the Denver Broncos to the title in his NFL farewell.
It also fell short of the alltime US record viewer mark of 114.4 million who watched NBC’s telecast of the 2015 Super Bowl, in which the Patriots beat Seattle.
The Falcons had built a 28- 3 lead in the third quarter at Houston, a lopsided margin seldom overcome in NFL contests. But Brady sparked the Patriots to two touchdowns and a pair of two- point conversions in the final six minutes to pull New England level and force overtime.
An overtime touchdown gave the Patriots a fifth title in seven Super Bowl appearances under the leadership of Brady and coach Bill Belichick.
Fox drew a 48.8 overnight rating, slightly off last year’s 49.0 overnight mark for the 50th Super Bowl, but said an extra 1.72 million viewers watched using online streaming while 650,000 more saw a Spanish- language simulcast on Fox Deportes. —