First ever overtime Super Bowl draws in 113.7 MILLION viewers across America - making it the second most watched in history
- An average of 113.7 million people watched the Super Bowl on Sunday
- 111.3 million watched it on Fox networks, 1.7 million streamed it online and 650,000 watched through its Hispanic channel Fox Deportes
- The audience peaked at 172 million viewers but not everyone stayed the course
- It is the second most watched Super Bowl after 2015 when 114 million tuned in
- Fox charged advertisers $5million for a 30 second slot during the game
The 51st Super Bowl was the second most watched ever, bringing in an average audience of 113.7million viewers across America.
While the audience peaked at 172 million, 60 million fewer stuck with the game from start to end to watch Tom Brady lead the New England Patriots to victory in the fourth quarter.
It is the second highest Super Bowl audience after 2015 when the Patriots trounced the Seattle Seahawks when 114 million watched.
111.3 million people watched Sunday's Super Bowl on Fox Sports, 1.7 million watched through its online streaming service and more than 650,000 tuning in through Fox Deportes.
Scroll down for video
![113.7 million people tuned in to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday as Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to a stunning final quarter comeback](http://web.archive.org./web/20170206223530/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/06/21/3CE6505700000578-4197300-image-m-2_1486416208095.jpg)
113.7 million people tuned in to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday as Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to a stunning final quarter comeback
![The audience peaked at 172 million viewers, the largest ever in US TV history, but its average audience was lower than in 2015](http://web.archive.org./web/20170206223530/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/06/21/3CE7897A00000578-4197300-image-m-4_1486416307458.jpg)
The audience peaked at 172 million viewers, the largest ever in US TV history, but its average audience was lower than in 2015
It's not clear when the audience reached its crescendo.
Millions either tuned out before the Patriots stunning final quarter comeback, convinced the Atlanta Falcons would win, or joined the game as tensions flared towards the end and stuck with it.
It was the first time in Super Bowl history the game went into overtime. The Patriots eventually won 38-28.
Others are likely to have tuned in specifically to watch Lady Gaga perform during the halftime show.
The ratings are a boost for the NFL which suffered flailing viewership at the start of the season.
![Lady Gaga took this year's halftime show after Beyonce in 2016 and Katy Perry the year before](http://web.archive.org./web/20170206223530/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/06/21/3CE7777A00000578-4197300-image-a-17_1486416969653.jpg)
Lady Gaga took this year's halftime show after Beyonce in 2016 and Katy Perry the year before
![Katy Perry performed with dancing sharks during the 2015 Super Bowl which drew in a larger audience](http://web.archive.org./web/20170206223530/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/06/21/3CE77D4800000578-4197300-image-a-18_1486418274453.jpg)
Katy Perry performed with dancing sharks during the 2015 Super Bowl which drew in a larger audience
Fox excitedly tweeted the results on Monday but was inundated with ridicule after claiming the broadcast was the most watched in 'TV history' without singling out American audiences.
'#SB51 on Fox Sports is the most-viewed program in television history with a total audience of 172 million,' the announcement said.
Users were quick to point out other international television broadcasts whose audiences were larger including the 2014 Fifa World Cup which more than one billion people watched.
They also pointed to the 2016 Eurovision song contest which drew an audience of 204 million.
Others compared the boast to President Trump's claims that his inauguration crowd was the 'most watched ever' which was a source of tension between Press Secretary Sean Spicer and the media for weeks.
The administration claimed they were referring to the number of people who watched it in person, online and on television rather than just those who had gathered in Washington who were fewer than in years past.
Commercials at this year's Super Bowl were the most expensive in history at $5million for a 30 second ad.
The figures, released by Fox on Monday, do not take in to account viewers overseas who may have watched through a host of foreign networks.
![More watched the 2015 Super Bowl when the Patriots triumphed over the Seattle Seahawks (above, quarter back Russell Wilson is comforted by Brady after the game)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170206223530/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/06/21/3CE77D5400000578-4197300-image-a-5_1486416341014.jpg)
More watched the 2015 Super Bowl when the Patriots triumphed over the Seattle Seahawks (above, quarter back Russell Wilson is comforted by Brady after the game)
Most watched News videos
- Melissa McCarthy nails screeching Sean Spicer on SNL
- Trump awkwardly avoids holding Melania's hand in Florida
- McThuggets! Brawl breaks out in McDonald's as thugs leap over counter
- Alec Baldwin mocks Trump and his Australia phone call
- Tom Brady reflects on record-breaking fifth Super Bowl win
- Hyundai films Super Bowl commercial DURING Super Bowl
- Video shows French police 'assault 22-year-old with truncheon'
- Police arrest Chanel Lewis for the murder of Karina Vetrano
- Outraged father confiscates weapons at nieces birthday party
- Drones form Stars and Stripes during Lady Gaga half time show
- Girl is thrown from theme park ride and dies in China
- Coca-Cola reprises 2014 commercial about diversity at Super Bowl
-
Hero flight attendant rescues teen from human trafficker...
-
Shame of Saint Becks: How taxman blocked David's...
-
Tom Brady breaks down in tears while hugging his...
-
JAN MOIR: Now we know the tawdry reality behind the...
-
'He's never had a fight in his 20 years': Father of...
-
Becksploitation! In their saccharine glory, the cloying...
-
Nigel Farage is EGGED as he hits the campaign trail for...
-
Peru Two drugs mule breaks her silence six months after...
-
Furious Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins hits back at David...
-
'They've crossed over to mean': Sean Spicer slaps SNL...
-
'Now your nightmare begins': Mother of murdered Queens...
-
'Reliable honest' husband who handed his wife, 51, all of...