Sunday’s Super Bowl surpassed M*A*S*H’s 1983 series finale as the Most Watched TV Program of All Time. According to Nielsen, 106.5 million viewers watched this weekend’s game on CBS, as opposed to the 105.97 million viewers that watched the M*A*S*H farewell– at a time when far fewer homes had television sets. So how does Alan Alda — who played Benjamin “Hawkeye” Pierce on the iconic comedy — feel about having the New Orleans Saints marching all over M*A*S*H’s 27-year-old record?
“I’m happy for New Orleans,” he told The New York Times Monday. “I want to see that city come out first in every way that it can, even if it means giving up a record that ‘M*A*S*H’ held for a long time.”
Nonetheless, Alda couldn’t help but wonder how accurate the numbers really are: “I know it sounds evil to mention, but how does Nielsen know how many actual people were watching either broadcast?” he asked.