Super Bowl XLVI suffered poor television ratings.
Super Bowl XLVI . The broadcast of the game on NBC broke the then record for the most-watched program in American television history , previously set during the previous year 's Super Bowl . Super Bowl XLVI was watched by an estimated average audience of 111.3 million US viewers and an estimated total audience of 166.8 million , according to Nielsen , meaning that over half of the American population watched at least some of the initial broadcast .