• by February 5, 2002

Apparently, a tight game, thrilling finish and major upset don't guarantee a Super Bowl ratings bonanza. Not that Fox is complaining.

The network's telecast of the New England Patriots' 20-17 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday night registered exactly the same numbers as the game last year: a 40.4 national rating and 61 share.

That means an average of 40.4 percent of the country's television homes were watching at any given moment, and 61 percent of in-use televisions were tuned to the game.

Those figures match those for the 2001 game, when the Baltimore Ravens routed the New York Giants 34-7 on CBS.

An estimated 131.7 million people (about 500,000 more than last year) watched at least part of the game Sunday night, the fifth-highest total for a program -- sports or otherwise -- in television history. The top 10 shows on that list are all Super Bowls.

In the last 30 years, only the 1999 (40.2 on Fox) and 1992 (40.3 on CBS) Super Bowls drew lower ratings, but the proliferation of cable and the Internet have dramatically stratified the TV audience.

The 2000 Super Bowl drew a 43.2 rating on ABC.

Viewership was high throughout Fox's broadcast Sunday, including a 38.3 rating for a halftime show featuring Irish rock band U2. That's nearly seven times the 5.6 rating NBC got for its attempt at halftime counterprogramming, a special edition of "Fear Factor" featuring scantily clad Playboy playmates doing stunts such as walking a tightrope between two buildings.

The audience -- which advertisers paid Fox an average of just less than $2 million per 30-second commercial to reach -- increased every 30 minutes from kickoff until a slight dip at the start of halftime. The numbers then increased again straight through to the final play, Adam Vinatieri's 48-yard field goal. The rating peaked with 43.6 percent of the country watching from 9:30 to 10 p.m. ET.

Not surprisingly, Boston was the major market with the largest rating, 56.1, followed by St. Louis at 52.4. The rating in Chicago was 45.1, New York 37.6, and Los Angeles 36.4

The show that followed the game on Fox, "Malcolm in the Middle," drew an 11.5 rating and 21 share -- a 70 percent jump from its season average.

Last year, the season premiere of "Survivor," which followed the CBS coverage of the Super Bowl drew a 23.6 rating and 38 share.