Originally published February 3, 2014 at 7:38 PM | Page modified February 3, 2014 at 10:16 PM

Super Bowl draws largest share for TV sports event in Seattle history

Estimated 2.5 million local viewers produce 56.7 rating and 92 share. Nationally, the game set a TV record with 111.5 million viewers.

By Bob Condotta

Seattle Times staff reporter

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NEW YORK – The Seahawks’ Super Bowl victory Sunday drew the largest share for a TV sports event in Seattle history, with an estimated 2.5 million local viewers tuned in.

Nationally, the game also set a record as the most-watched television event in U.S. history, with 111.5 million viewers.

According to ratings released Monday, the game had a 56.7 rating in the greater Seattle area and a 92 share. The rating measures the percentage of the total population of televisions tuned to a program. The share measures the percentage of televisions actually in use, watching a program.

Among males 25-54, the game drew a 97 share in the Seattle area.

The TV market that had the highest rating for the game was Kansas City, which had a 58.1 rating, but a smaller share than Seattle at 78 (one reason Seattle’s share was lower could be he number of people who watched the game at bars or parties and might not be accounted for in the rating).

The ratings in Seattle for the Super Bowl were higher than for any previous Seahawks game. Seattle’s loss to Pittsburgh in the 2006 Super Bowl drew a 54.4 rating and an 85 share, and the NFC Championship Game win over San Francisco two weeks ago had a 53.9 rating and an 85 share.

The Super Bowl, however, did not chart the highest rating for any Seattle sporting event. That belongs to Game 5 of the 1995 American League Division Series, which drew a 62.4 rating in Seattle, though an 82 share that was lower than the Super Bowl.

The game set standards for the most-streamed sports event online and, with 24.9 million tweets, the biggest U.S. live TV event on Twitter.

The Seattle victory eclipsed the 111.3 million viewers who watched the 2012 Super Bowl between the New York Giants and New England Patriots, according to the Nielsen company. Until last year’s game dipped slightly to 108.7 million, the Super Bowl had set ratings records for the previous three years in a row.

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @bcondotta. The Associated Press contributed to this article.