Final Super Bowl ratings: Most-watched TV event ever!

The biggest Super Bowl blowout in two decades had the biggest viewership ever, according to final numbers provided by Fox Sports.

Super Bowl XLVIII delivered an incredible 111.5 million viewers. That’s enough to rank Sunday’s game as the most-watched U.S. TV telecast of all time, edging out 2011’s previous record-holding game.

The 43-8 Seattle Seahawks victory drained some suspense from the annual telecast which analysts suspected would impact overall viewership. In fact, preliminary ratings early this morning suggested the game was down from last year. But in the final numbers, the Super Bowl once again set a new benchmark. The previous five Super Bowls are now the five most watched TV programs in U.S. history (the long-running holder for most-watched TV program, the M*A*S*H finale in 1983, now ranks sixth). Only last year’s telecast broke a string of rising ratings that started in 2006.

The half-time show also set a record with 115.3 million viewers watching Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, beating the 110.8 million delivered by Beyonce last year and the prior record of 114.0 million set by Madonna two years ago.

The top markets for the game were Kansas City and Seattle. New York City had its best Super Bowl rating since 1987.

Here’s Annie Barrett’s rundown of the best and worst Super Bowl ads. Here’s how Fox’s other Sunday night post-game shows performed.

Historical chart: