NEW YORK — For the second year in a row, the Super Bowl has set a new record for American television viewing.
The Nielsen Co. said Monday that an estimated 111 million people watched the Green Bay Packers outlast the Pittsburgh Steelers in professional football's ultimate game. That tops the 106.5 million who watched the 2010 game between New Orleans and Indianapolis.
The series finale of M-A-S-H had held the title of the most-watched TV show in the United States for 27 years. It is now No. 3.
Fox had the advantage of a game between two of the National Football League's iconic franchises and, even though it looked like it could be a rout when the Packers took a 21-3 lead, it went down to the final minute and held viewers' interest.