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Super Bowl XL - Steelers Fifth Victory!

The Steelers' 21-10 victory in the Super Bowl on Sunday was their record-tying fifth with San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys. On this night, satisfaction was more than Mick Jagger's signature song that closed the halftime show. It was sweet validation for Cowher with a title in his 14th season as their coach, the longest tenure in the NFL.

The Steelers certainly got plenty of help from the Seahawks. Seattle was plagued by penalties, drops, and poor clock management. Yes, the officiating wasn't the best, but the Seahawks made enough mistakes to blame themselves, not just the referees.

The Steelers victory posted a 41.6% national rating – representing a 1% increase from last year’s Patriots – Eagles game. Super Bowl XL was the highest rated game among households in the past five years. Fans tuned in as advertisers key target A18-49 ratings grew slightly, presenting a 4% increase from last year, thanks mainly to an influx of Men 18-49. Young adults tuned out this past Sunday night as ratings declined 4% among Females 18-24 and -7% among Men 18-24 during Super Bowl XL v. year ago.

The commercials that aired during Super Bowl XL Sunday night, like the game itself, did not go down in history as being all that memorable. It was pretty much standard fare. This year, a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl cost advertisers $2.5 million. Some of these advertisers seized the moment. Dove's commercial about girls and self-esteem was touching but my favorite – FedEx which featured a caveman getting fired for not shipping a package with FedEx despite complaining to his boss that FedEx hadn't even been invented yet.

Source: CAB analysis of Nielsen Galaxy. 2006= Live + SD.

Source: CAB analysis of Nielsen Galaxy. 2006= Live + SD.

During one of the most watched nights in TV, Ad-Supported Cable posted rating gains with households up +8% and A18-49 up +10%. In fact, ratings continue to grow year after year despite which team is battling for victory. Viewers of all ages continue to turn to Ad-Supported Cable for entertainment with ratings up across the board, especially among A35-49.

Source: CAB analysis of Nielsen Galaxy. 2006= Live + SD.

Source: CAB analysis of Nielsen Galaxy. 2006= Live + SD.

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