No Ratings Record for Super Bowl

Another one-sided Super Bowl could bring the game its second-lowest rating since 1972.

The Washington Redskins’ 37-24 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday averaged a 40.4 rating and a 60% share of the audience in the 25 major markets for which A. C. Nielsen Co. had ratings data Monday.

If that figure stands up when national figures are announced today, it would top only the 39 rating in 1990 when CBS aired the San Francisco 49ers’ 55-10 victory over the Denver Broncos, among ratings for the last 21 games.

CBS, however, expressed confidence that the national ratings would be higher than for the 25 markets.

“The national rating will go up,” said George Schweitzer, CBS’ senior vice president of marketing and communications. “I don’t think this is a low number compared to the (New York) Giants playing. We consider it strong, and we’re very pleased with the performance.”

But last year’s game, in which the Giants defeated Buffalo, 20-19, had a lower national rating (41.8) than its overnight rating (42.9). That game’s ratings were buoyed both by its unprecedented closeness and the presence of a team from the nation’s largest TV market, New York.

Meanwhile, Fox’s heavily promoted live halftime edition of “In Living Color” had an 18.3 rating and a 27 share in the 25 markets, more than tripling what Fox achieved last year with regularly scheduled programming during halftime. CBS’ 33 halftime rating was 21% lower than what ABC drew during halftime when it televised the Super Bowl last year.

While Fox was pleased with its results, CBS downplayed Fox’s performance as improved but not “a huge gain.”

In the Los Angeles market, the Super Bowl had an average audience of about 1.7 million homes--59% of those that had the TV on during that period.