As television becomes more digital social media will continue to play an increasingly important role in how consumers discover and engage with various forms of content, including TV.

According to preliminary results from The Nielsen Company, last night’s broadcast of Super Bowl XLV on FOX had an average audience of 111 million viewers, making it the most watched television program of all time.

The Nielsen Company released a list of the most popular media and consumer spending trends in the U.S. for 2010, covering everything from the most popular television shows, to the most liked commercials, book sales, purchasing trends, top mobile apps and more.

According to The Nielsen Sports Media Exposure Index, the Cowboys were still the most popular NFL team in America last season.

Nielsen estimates another large increase of Hispanic TV homes for the 2010-2011 TV season. The estimated 3.07 percent increase for Hispanic homes outpaces the overall 0.87 percent gain in TV homes estimated for the upcoming season.

An estimated 111.6 million U.S. viewers watched at least six minutes of the 2010 World Cup on English or Spanish language networks, according to an analysis by The Nielsen Company.

A total of 99.2 million U.S. viewers have watched at least six minutes of World Cup action through Tuesday. The figure already surpasses the 91.4 million viewers who watched at least some of the games throughout the entire 2006 World Cup.

An estimated 19.4 million U.S. viewers watched USA’s loss to Ghana on Saturday, making it the most watched soccer game ever in the U.S., according to data from The Nielsen Company.

The average American TV audience for games played by Team USA are up 68% in 2010 compared to the 2006 World Cup, according to an analysis released this afternoon by The Nielsen Company.

Saturday’s USA-England game might have ended in a draw, but the game’s telecasts were the clear winners.