Millions More Tuned In

Super Bowl XL attracted an estimated national television audience of 90.7 million people -- the second-largest audience for a Super Bowl, and the biggest since the Steelers last played in one -- according to estimates Monday from Nielsen Media Research.

When the Steelers lost, 27-17, to the Dallas Cowboys in 1996 at Tempe, Ariz., the television audience was an estimated 94.1 million.

Last year’s Super Bowl, in which New England defeated Philadelphia, drew an audience of 86.1 million.

Sunday’s game got a 41.0 national rating and a 60 share of the audience.

Although last year’s audience was smaller, the rating and share -- 43.4 and 63 -- were higher.

The highest Super Bowl rating is a 49.1/73 for the 1982 game, in which San Francisco defeated Cincinnati, 26-21.

Sunday’s game got a 57.1 rating in Pittsburgh and a 55 in Seattle.

In Los Angeles, it got a 34.2, a 61 share and an estimated audience of 3.7 million.

ABC’s 3 1/2 -hour pregame show got a 4.5 rating in Los Angeles the first half-hour and a 13.9 the final half-hour.

Nationally, 141.4 million watched at least part of the game. The 90.7 million is the game’s average audience at any given moment.

The “Grey’s Anatomy” episode that followed the Super Bowl on ABC Sunday night drew an audience of 38.1 million, which is 15 million more than the show had ever drawn.

Since 1991, only two programs shown after the Super Bowl have drawn a bigger audience -- “Survivor” in 2001 and “Friends” in 1996.

The Associated Press reported Monday that Mick Jagger’s microphone was briefly shut off by the NFL during portions of the songs “Start Me Up” and “Rough Justice.”

An NFL spokesman said the Rolling Stones knew ahead of time that the league would not accept particular lyrics.