Nielsen says "yes," it was the most watched Super Bowl ever (97.5M viewers) and the second most watched TV program, topped only by the M*A*S*H series finale in 1983 (106M). The program also came darn close to matching that number with a peak audience in the harrowing (some would say tragic) fourth quarter where 105.7M viewers tuned in to see Payton’s brother make history.

Steve Sechrist
Senior Analyst and Editor

But unlike the folks watching Hawkeye for the last time a quarter of a century ago, (we’re getting old Alan…) Sunday’s TV event was punctuated with one significant difference: D*T*V. That is, most viewers watched the show in digital not analog broadcast, and of those, most were viewing in HD (high-definition.)

In addition to the viewership record this broadcast may have made, it is also slated to be the second-to-last Super Bowl broadcast in the US by an analog signal. In fact the US Congress pushed back the final DTV transition (analog cut off) date to February 17, 2009 - after Super Bowl XLIII. Purportedly, this was done to avoid constituents missing the game due to the analog cut-off. (Thus demonstrating a golden rule of politics, "Never write policy that comes between a voter and a major sporting event.")

This broadcast may have helped educate the masses on the key differences between analog and digital TV - and that education may have come none too soon. A recent Consumer Reports study said nearly one-third of Americans with analog televisions are unaware of the analog cut-off. Of those who were aware of the cut-off, a whopping 74% had some serious misconceptions about the DTV transition including:

• 58% believe all TVs will need a digital converter box to function
• 48% believe only digital televisions will work after 2009
• 24% believe they will need to trash all analog TVs

Since I couldn’t wangle a ticket to Pete Putman’s Super Bowl bash, (DD 2/4) we had one at my house this past Sunday. We are at the totally opposite end of the spectrum from Pete, we treated guests to a single 42-inch Pioneer Elite plasma (2006 vintage á la Costco) using the local Fox feed in 720p digital. The picture was outstanding and guests were amazed at the clarity of the image.

Many naturally assumed that we paid big bucks for the HD satellite or cable feed. More than a few eyebrows raised when I announced the picture was courtesy of the local DTV terrestrial broadcast, a $39 powered antenna from Radio Shack mounted inside my attic and the ATSC tuner that came in this now two-year-old set. I didn’t teach a class on the DTV transition that day, but many came away with the knowledge that it really isn’t that hard or that costly to get an exceptional HDTV image in the home. In fact, some claim terrestrial HDTV is the best HDTV image, since cable and satellite providers normally cut bit rates in order to increase the number of available channels.

So along with the new world champion NY Giants, we usher in the beginning of the end of the NTSC standard here in the US. (Contrary to what the engineers at the BBC may say - it does not stand for "Never Twice the Same Color.") For just one year and twelve days from now the plug will be pulled on the oldest of the three analog broadcast standards (PAL and SECAM are the other two) first used in 1954. Coincidentally this is just one year after the fictional "Hawkeye" made his final flight from war torn Korea (see image.) So perhaps it is fitting that we too say "good bye" to NTSC with the image transmitted to its largest-ever audience.

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