Siuper Bowl record ratings

GIGANTIC EYEBALLS: No, the NFL doesn’t pay the halftime talent, but you can't beat the exposure. Super Bowl XLVIII pulled in 111.5 million viewers, topping the previous historical mark set two years ago of 111.3 million, TheWrap reports. In that 2012 game, which took place in Indianapolis, the Giants defeated the Patriots, with Madonna doing the halftime show. XLVI (as we like to call it) was a far more competitive and entertaining game than XLVIII, of course. Imagine what this year’s tally would’ve been had the game been comparably close. Sunday’s telecast tied last year’s game in New Orleans between the Ravens and 49ers—the one during which Beyoncé famously blew out the lights—with a 46.4 and a 69 share in households, tying XVIII and XIX as the seventh highest-rated Super Bowls ever. But Sunday’s rating at kickoff, 44.5/70, ranks as the highest on record, 12% more than the kickoff rating a year ago. Seattle’s household ratings/share performance on Sunday set a local record with 56.7/92, While Denver measured 51.4/83. While those two markets racked up the highest shares in the country, Kansas City, with 58.1/78, scored the highest actual rating, oddly enough. (2/4a)