NBC Breaks the Record with a 49.7 Rating and 114.4 Million Viewers During the Super Bowl

If you ask a network exec who won the Super Bowl this morning, the correct answer is anybody who bought an ad in the fourth quarter. NBC bet big on its high asking price for a 30-second spot this year. But $4.5 million, in hindsight, looks like a sound investment in a game that wasn't a sure thing until the last 20 seconds of play, with a controversial call by the Seahawks' offensive coordinator and a spectacular interception on the Patriots' 1-yard line by Malcolm Butler.