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    Fox draws audience of 111.3M for Super Bowl, down slightly

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    Atlanta Falcons' Devonta Freeman runs against New England Patriots' Dont'a Hightower during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 51 football game Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

    By David Bauder, Television Writer

    NEW YORK (AP) --

    Fox drew an audience of 111.3 million viewers for the first Super Bowl to go into overtime, a smaller audience than the game has had in the last two years but still ranking among the biggest for a television program in the United States.

    The top Super Bowl audience – and the biggest for any American TV show – was the 114.4 million viewers who saw the New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks in 2015, according to the Nielsen company.

    Viewership for the Patriots' come-from-behind 34-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday had a relatively modest start, perhaps because the Falcons don't have much of a national profile. The game also looked like a rout in the third quarter, and some 4 million viewers slipped away around the time the Falcons took at 28-3 lead, Nielsen said.

    People returned as the Patriots came alive. During overtime, the game had its biggest audience of 117.7 million, Nielsen said Monday. The overall audience figure of 111.3 million is an average of how many people were watching during a typical minute, taking into account the game's peaks and valleys.

    The audience was 117.5 million for Lady Gaga's halftime performance, Nielsen said. Earlier in the day, Nielsen said 12.2 million watched President Donald Trump's interview with Bill O'Reilly of Fox News Channel.

    Last year's Denver-Carolina game reached an audience of 111.9 million.

    Tags:NielsenSuper Bowl



    DirecTV calls off acquisition of rival Dish, possibly ending a yearslong pursuit

    Friday, November 22, 2024
    Dish Network satellite dishes are shown at an apartment complex in Palo Alto, Calif., Feb. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

    DirecTV is calling off its planned acquisition of rival Dish after the offer was rejected by bond holders at that company.

    The deal was reliant on Dish bond holders agreeing to trade in the debt they held for debt in the new company, a swap that would have cost them about $1.6 billion, collectively.

    The retreat by DirecTV this week may end a years-long effort by the company to acquire both Dish and Sling after it announced the bid in September.

    DirecTV was looking to acquire Dish TV and Sling TV from its owner EchoStar in a debt exchange transaction that included a payment of $1, plus the assumption of approximately $9.8 billion in debt. The deal was contingent on several factors, including regulatory approvals and bondholders writing off debt related to Dish.

    "While we believed a combination of DirecTV and Dish would have benefited all stakeholders, we have terminated the transaction because the proposed exchange terms were necessary to protect DirecTV's balance sheet and our operational flexibility," DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said in a statement.

    The prospect of a DirecTV-Dish combo has long been rumored, and reported talks resurfaced over the years. And the two almost merged more than two decades ago — but the Federal Communications Commission blocked the deal valued at the time at $18.5 billion deal, citing antitrust concerns.

    The pay-for-TV market has shifted significantly since. As more and more consumers tune into online streaming platforms, demand for more traditional satellite entertainment continues to shrink.

    DirecTV says that it will continue to invest in next-generation streaming platforms and offer new packaging options while integrating content from live TV alongside direct-to-consumer... Read More

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