111.3M TV viewers watch unforgettable comeback
The national audience for Super Bowl LI didn’t set a record, but it was still phenomenal.
An average TV audience of 111.3 million watched the New England Patriots stage the biggest Super Bowl comeback ever to beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime, according to Nielsen.
The record is held by the 2015 Super Bowl when the Patriots hung on to beat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24. That game drew 114.4 million, the biggest audience in U.S. TV history. The audience last year for the Denver Broncos’ 24-10 victory against the Carolina Panthers was 111.9 million.
In Orlando, the Super Bowl was up from last year. The game averaged 1.357 million local viewers for Fox, according to Nielsens supplied to the Sentinel.
It wasn't exactly "Dewey Defeats Truman," but some Florida readers of the Boston Globe learned a different Super Bowl outcome than most Monday morning.
Early editions of New England's largest newspaper ran a front page suggesting the Patriots lost, with the headline “A Bitter End’’ over a large image of Brady on his knees. The Falcons led 21-3 at halftime, but the Patriots rallied to win 34-28 in overtime for the franchise's fifth championship.
It's not clear how many readers received the incorrect front page. Globe officials didn't respond immediately to requests for comment Monday.
Boston-area editions ran the headline “A Win For The Ages’’ and showed a triumphant Brady holding the championship trophy as confetti fell.
“When my husband saw that headline, he absolutely bounced off the wall,’’ said of the front page they received in North Fort Myers.
Brady called the victory against the Falcons, the first OT game in Super Bowl history, a “hell of a game” for his mother.
is dealing with an undisclosed health issue, and the game Sunday night in Houston was the only one she attended this season.
“She's been through a lot,” Brady said. “Way harder than I went through last night. Way harder than everyone on our team went through last night . ... I'm just happy last night to be able to celebrate with her.”
Coach said it would be “inappropriate” to suggest Brady put in more effort this season because of Deflategate. ... Brady said RB
whose three touchdowns included the winning 2-yard run in OT, deserved to be MVP. He hinted he might give the vehicle that comes with the award to White.