Super Bowl XLVII Scores Best Rating Ever for the Game

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CBS' broadcast of Super Bowl XLVII that saw the Baltimore Ravens defeat the San Francisco 49ers, pulled in a 48.1 preliminary household rating, the highest number for the game in metered market history. That's a one percent uptick from last year’s matchup between the N.Y. Giants and the New England Patriots, which was broadcast on NBC. That game set a new U.S. audience record with 111.3 million viewers, narrowly besting the previous years' Super Bowl on Fox.

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But the rating for last night's game excludes the span of time during the power outage at the Superdome, which occurred from 8:45 – 9:15 p.m. ET, and when some viewers may have begun to channel surf despite valiant efforts on the part of CBS Sports analysts’ at vamping to fill the space.

Super Bowl ratings peaked at a 52.9 rating between 10:30-10:45 p.m. after the 49ers managed to put some points on the board to pull closer to the Ravens. Not surprisingly, the game had its highest overnight rating in Baltimore (59.0 household rating), followed by New Orleans (57.1), where the game was played. Washington, D.C., where many Baltimore fans also live, was the third highest-rated metered market (56.9) and Norfolk, VA was fourth (55.8). San Francisco, home of the losing team, did not even crack the top ten.

Final ratings will be in later today.