The game was watched by an average of 41.9 million women, the most on record, breaking the mark set during the 1994 Winter Olympics figure skating competition. For that event, which featured U.S. skater Nancy Kerrigan, the average audience was 40.9 million women for Feb. 23, 1994, and 38.6 million women for the competition two nights later.

A Doritos ad that aired at 8:30 p.m. Central Sunday was seen by more than 116.2 million viewers, making it the most-watched U.S. TV commercial of all-time. In the ad, two men are attacked in a gym for stealing someone else's Doritos. The ad ran in the fourth quarter of the game.

The Super Bowl also was the most-watched English-language program or event among Hispanics, with the telecast averaging 8.28 million Hispanic viewers.

The National Football League, based on Nielsen numbers, broke down the game's record average viewers, estimated at more than 106.4 million, into what plays were seen by a shifting number of viewers at certain points.

An average of 116.5 million viewers saw New Orleans Saints cornerback Tracy Porter intercept a pass thrown by Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning and return it 74 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

An average of 109 million viewers saw the Saints recover an onside kick to start the second half.

Down on the list

Of 55 metered markets, there were 40 of them that delivered a higher rating for the Super Bowl than Milwaukee.

The 45.4 rating the game had on WDJT-TV (Channel 58) ranked 41st of the 55 markets Nielsen tracks to derive its audience estimates.

That is a surprisingly low ranking for this market, which shows robust interest in the NFL apart from the attention it gives to the Packers.

A rating is the percentage of TV households in a market tuned to a program.