Audience ratings agency Nielsen estimates that the game won by the underdog New Orleans Saints over the Indianapolis Colts yesterday and aired on CBS drew 106.5 million viewers.
That just edges out the previous record of 105.97 million people who tuned in to watch the final episode of the TV series "MASH" on February 28, 1983, which also aired on CBS.
There were fewer TV viewers -- and a smaller US population -- at that time, but the MASH show aired in an era before the proliferation of cable television stations or the Internet which together have led to a steady diffusion of television over the past 20 years.
The previous Super Bowl audience record was 98.7 million viewers, for last year's game in which the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals.
With its 31-17 victory, New Orleans claimed its first National Football League championship in the franchise's 43-year history.
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