Denver Broncos’ Super Bowl win draws 111.9 million US television viewers

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The Denver Broncos’ Super Bowl victory attracted the third-highest television audience for an event in the US. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:44am, 9 Feb 2016Updated: 10:44am, 9 Feb 2016

The Denver Broncos’ 24-10 Super Bowl victory over the Carolina Panthers drew some 111.9 million viewers to make it the third most watched show in US television history, Nielsen said on Monday.

The viewership tracker said preliminary data showed the 50th edition of the NFL’s championship extravaganza was viewed in an average of 54.3 million homes.

The huge amount of viewers placed it just behind the 114.4 million who watched Tom Brady and the New England Patriots stun the Seattle Seahawks in last year’s Super Bowl and the 112.2 million audience that tuned in during Seattle’s blowout win over Denver in the 2014 Super Bowl.

The half-time show, which included performances from stars including Beyonce, Chris Martin and Bruno Mars, caused a spike in Twitter traffic. Photo: AFP

This year’s contest in Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, boasted the compelling storyline of Denver’s five-time Most Valuable Player quarterback Peyton Manning possibly playing the last game of his career, against a powerful Panthers team led by rising quarterback star Cam Newton.

However, it did not produce a nail-biting finish to entice more viewers.

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