With two of the most storied football franchises, the game posted a monstrous Nielsen preliminary 18.6 rating/40 share among 18-49 viewers. The game (and subsequent post-game programming) dominated prime time by so much it tripled the collective rating/share (6.2/13) of the other networks combined.
Fox also benefited because the game was close throughout, with the Giants winning 23-20 in overtime.
Perhaps the most glaring news wasn't the main competitors--ABC, NBC, or CBS. It was CW, which registered a 0.2 rating and a 0 share. Technically, a zero share signifies no viewers. But it's a statistical aberration--CW had a fraction of a share point.
More specifically, CW averaged 688,000 viewers, with its best coming from an original "Life is Wild"--averaging 799,000 viewers and a 0.2 rating/1 share among 18-49 viewers.
advertisement
advertisement
Among the brave competitors, ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" scored a decent 3.8/7 among 18-49 viewers. CBS had a solid 3.1/7 in 18-49 viewers for the season finale of "The Amazing Race." All other network shows scored under a 2 rating.
Overall, 18-49 viewer numbers had Fox averaging an 18.6 rating/40 share for the night; ABC, 2.8/6; CBS; 2.0/4; NBC, 1.2/3, and CW, 0.2/0.
In terms of total viewers, Fox had 48.58 million; ABC, 7.94 million; CBS, 7.88 million; NBC, 4.51 million; and CW, 688,000.