A sold out show or an album going gold, platinum or diamond is music to the ears of emerging artists and veteran musicians alike. But achieving that goal typically takes more than just great songs—exposure is a key contributor.

Final results released by The Nielsen Company show that the Super Bowl matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals was the most watched Super Bowl ever, eclipsing last year’s thriller between New York and New England. The broadcast, which featured a halftime performance by Bruce Springsteen, had an average viewership of 98.7 million viewers.

RANK
SUPER BOWL
WINNER
LOSER
AVG # OF VIEWERS
P2+

1
2009
Pittsburgh
Arizona
98,732,000

2
2008
New York
New England
97,448,000

3
1996
Dallas
Pittsburgh
94,080,000

4
2007
Indianapolis
Chicago
93,184,000

5
1986
Chicago
New England
92,570,000

6
1993
Dallas
Buffalo
90,990,000

7
2006
Pittsburgh
Seattle
90,745,000

8
1998
Denver
Green Bay
90,000,000

9
1994
Dallas
Buffalo
90,000,000

10
2004
New England
Carolina
89,795,000

Source: 2009 The Nielsen Company

With all the anticipation surrounding Sunday’s big game, an analysis of national and local ratings from past Super Bowls provides insight into the viewership of this year’s matchup:

In terms of DMA’s (Designated Market Area), Phoenix is ranked 12th and Pittsburgh 23rd of the 56 metered markets. The 2006 Super Bowl featured a similar match-up with Seattle, ranked the 13th largest DMA, against Pittsburgh, then 22nd. That game received a 57.4 rating in Pittsburgh and 54.4 in Seattle (compared to 41.6 nationally).

From 1999-2008, the highest single-year metered market performance was delivered in Jacksonville …

Last year’s matchup between the Patriots and the Giants was viewed by a record 97.5 million people in the U.S. As expected, the Super Bowl was the most-watched TV broadcast in 2008. Networks broadcasting the Super Bowl often use the game as a lead-in for one of their regular shows. This year, NBC will broadcast a one-hour episode of The Office. Last year, 29.1 million viewers stuck around after the game to watch an episode of House on FOX.

Year
Super Bowl
Avg. viewers
in millions
Show After Game
Avg. viewers
in millions

2008
FOX – …

The 2008 Super Bowl was the highest-rated TV show in the U.S. for the year and was viewed by a record 97.5 million people – more than any previous Super Bowl. And, as expected, 42.9 percent of those viewers were males 18 years and older (45.8 million viewers). However, according to The Nielsen Company, 37.7 million women over the age of 18 were also watching. In the last 10 years, the percentage of women watching the Super Bowl between the ages of 18-54 has increased by 8 percent.
Despite this …

Rank
Program
Network
Match-Up
Viewers (P2+)

1
FOX SUPER BOWL XLII
FOX
NY GIANTS VS NEW ENGLAND
97,563,000

2
FOX NFC CHAMPIONSHIP
FOX
NY GIANTS AT GREEN BAY
54,005,000

3
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP ON CBS
CBS
SAN DIEGO AT NEW ENGLAND
44,850,000

4
FOX NFC PLAYOFF-SUN
FOX
NY GIANTS AT DALLAS
40,094,000

5
SUM OLYM TUE PRIME 1
NBC
 n/a
34,586,000

6
SUM OLYM SUN PRIME 1
NBC
 n/a
32,679,000

7
SUM OLYM SAT PRIME 2
NBC
 n/a
31,890,000

8
AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF-SU
CBS
SAN DIEGO AT INDIANAPOLIS
31,598,000

9
AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF-SA
CBS
JACKSONVILLE AT NEW ENGLAND
30,932,000

10
SUM OLYM MON PRIME 1
NBC
 n/a
30,579,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (2008).

Nielsen has issued a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2008, covering everything from the top TV programs to the most popular consumer packaged goods.
FOX’s “American Idol” was the top TV program of 2008, according to Nielsen.  Tuesday night broadcasts of “American Idol,” through December 7, drew 15.5% of U.S. TV households, on average, while Wednesday night “American Idol” broadcasts drew an average of 15.3% of all TV households.
Viewers with DVR access gave NBC’s “Heroes” the biggest bump any primetime program received in 2008.  The average …

Was 2008 the best sports year ever?  At least in terms of viewer interest, there’s plenty of evidence to support that argument.  Consider these TV sports highlights from 2008:
-The most-watched global event ever (2008 Beijing Summer Olympics: 4.7 billion viewers)
-The most-watched Super Bowl ever (Giants-Patriots, Super Bowl XLII: 97.5 million viewers)
-The most-watched cable broadcast of all time (Cowboys-Eagles, Monday Night Football: 18.6 million viewers)
-The most-watched cable golf event of all time (Tiger vs. Rocco, U.S. Open Playoff: 4.8 million viewers)
-The most-watched cable baseball game ever (Red Sox-Rays, ALCS Game 7: …

In this video preview of a Dec. 4 Nielsen Online webinar: “Super Buzz or Super Blues? Maximizing Media Returns” Pete Blackshaw, EVP Digital Strategic Services, Nielsen Online, discusses how search, social media engagement, and word of mouth contribute to ROI in the Super Bowl advertising playbook.

Webinar details at Nielsen Online.