• by Wayne Friedman , February 5, 2008

The most dramatic Super Bowl in years yielded dramatically new viewing records.

The close game between the New York Giants and New England Patriots gave Fox 97.5 million viewers--3% more than 1996's Super Bowl XXX's 94.1 million, according to Nielsen preliminary data. That's the most-viewed Super Bowl in history.

The game--in which the Giants downed the unbeaten Patriots 17-14--was also up 5% versus last year's numbers, which counted 93.184 million viewers. In terms of household ratings, the game earned a 43.3 rating/65 share versus the 42.6 rating of a year ago, when CBS aired the game where the Indianapolis Colts bested the Chicago Bears.

In terms of 18-49 viewers, the game did not beat the record-setting 1996 NBC Super Bowl--earning a 37.6 rating versus the Dallas-Pittsburgh 1996 game, which earned a 41.2 rating.

The most-watched television program of all time remains the finale of "M*A*S*H," which was viewed by an average 106 million people.

The Super Bowl also did plenty for a special episode of "House," which ran after the game. It also led, with a 14.4 rating/34 share among 18-49 viewers and 32.8 million viewers.

Not surprisingly, with the Super Bowl in hand, Fox TV dominated the TV schedule. Fox beat the combined networks by 10 times in terms of ratings, pulling in a 31.4 rating/62 share. ABC was at a microscopic 1.2/2; CBS and NBC tied each with a 0.8/2; and CW followed with statistically no viewers, a 0.2 rating and 0 share.

The biggest-rated shows after the Super Bowl and "House" were, in order: ABC's theatrical movie "Meet the Fockers" with a 1.4/3 among 18-49 viewers; CBS' "Cold Case" with a 1.3/3; ABC's repeat "America's Funniest Home Videos" at a 1.1/2; and a repeat of NBC's "The Biggest Loser: Couples," which earned a 1.0 rating.