For more than a quarter century, the series finale M.A.S.H. stood out as the most-watched show in United States history. Then in February of 2010, Super Bowl XLIV between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints surpassed it as the most-watched show in this nation’s history.
Since then, the Super Bowl has found a way to earn the top-five spots. So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that this year’s matchup between the eventual champion New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks earned the top overall spot—114.4 million viewers in the United States. It beat out last year’s Super Bowl between the very same Seahawks and the Denver Broncos by about 2.2 million viewers.
For comparison’s sake, 23 million Americans watched Game 7 of the World Series between the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants this past October.
If there was any question what America’s Pastime was, these numbers throw that idea completely out the window.