CW sets midseason reality schedule

The CW announced premiere dates for its two midseason reality series, "Fly Girls" and "High Society." Notice both are getting a lead-in from 90-minute version of "America's Next Top Model." Awww, how cute, they're using it like mini-"American Idol"! More details from the release below...

'Spartacus,' 'Caprica' continue ratings trends

Starz's "Spartacus" and Syfy's "Caprica" continued their ratings trends, which for the former is good news -- "Blood and Sand" was up 10% this week to 858,000 viewers. While over on Syfy, "Caprica" slipped 21% in its third week to 1.1 million.

Michael Chiklis cast in ABC drama pilot

From a supercop to a superdad: "The Shield" star Michael Chiklis is set to topline Greg Berlanti's ABC drama pilot "No Ordinary Family."

"Family," from ABC Studios, centers on an American family whose members have special abilities. Chiklis, who has experience playing a superhero from his turn in the "Fantastic Four" movie franchise, will play the father. More back-end details here...

MTV redesigns logo, drops 'Music Television' (pic)

After 29 years, MTV has redesigned its logo and finally dropped "Music Television."

Basically it looks just like the old logo, only with some cropping. The design is getting flak from bloggers, but this is long overdue. Having "Music Television" on there was just a constant reminder that MTV was branding itself one way, programming itself another. Here's the logo...

Fox's second Ellen Degeneres 'Idol' promo

A bit more this time...

Super Bowl dethrones 'M*A*S*H,' sets all-time record!

UPDATED: Super Bowl XLIV is the most-watched TV program in U.S. history.

Sunday's big game set a new all-time ratings high, overthrowing the 27-year-old record held by the final episode of "M*A*S*H."

The New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts showdown drew 106.5 million viewers, smashing Super Bowl records and edging out 1983's "M*A*S*H" finale, which garnered 105.97 million viewers.

Viewership was up 8% from 2009's Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals nail-biter, which was seen by a then-record 98.7 million viewers. 

“With all the memorable story lines going into Super Bowl XLIV, combined with the awesome power of the NFL, we are thrilled with this rating, and I am extremely proud of the way the entire CBS Television Network produced, sold and promoted the most-watched television show in history,” said Sean McManus, president, CBS News and Sports.

Super Bowl XLIV is the first sports program to ever domestically crack 100 million viewers. Granted, the population has grown from when the "M*A*S*H" finale aired, with the TV audience having climbed from 218 million viewers to 292 million. Yet that audience is also much more specialized and segmented in terms of viewing habits. Most broadcast shows struggle to pull ratings that were commonplace just a few years ago.

Rob Yarin, senior vp of programming at Magid Associates, said football in general and the Super Bowl in particular are uniquely suited to resist the corrosive forces that plague other types of programming.

"Who wants to watch the Super Bowl on their laptop?" Yarin said. "It's a big-screen event. The primary purpose of the Super Bowl is to watch it live on television, and that's why you're seeing these huge ratings."

The game also capped a hugely successful season for the NFL.

"The NFL is the perfect television property," McManus said. "The rest keeps getting fractionalized and the NFL keeps getting more appealing to viewers. It's hard to explain the phenomena."

CBS research head David Poltrack gave it a shot. Poltrack said that -- like award shows such as the Grammys and Golden Globes which have recently seen a ratings revival -- the Super Bowl qualifies as a "shared experience event."

"We all seek ways to identify with other people," he said. "All of our online actiivty is isolating and there’s a growing need for connection, particularly in economically hard times. You can participate in the Super Bowl at any economic level."

Perhaps viewers can afford to participate. But what about broadcasters?  

With NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics expected to lose money for the first time, and the BCS Championship moving to ESPN, big ticket sporting events are getting tougher for broadcasters to afford. Cable networks, which have a dual revenue stream from advertising and subscribers, are potentially better poised to capture key events in the future.

"There is a concern as we see the migration more toward the cable sector," Poltrack said. "We have to make sure we deliver the greatest value we can. That’s why we do everything in our power to find an economic model that works and, fortunately, with the Super Bowl, that model has been discovered."

"We’ll figure out how to keep paying for it as long as it keeps delivering ratings like this," Poltrack added.

The premiere of CBS' latest reality show "Undercover Boss" likewise scored for the network, drawing 38.6 million viewers -- the largest audience ever for a new series following the Super Bowl and the most-watched reality series premiere ever.

Yet for some, Super Ratings Sunday wasn't all that surprising given the “perfect storm” of elements coming together, which included literal snowstorms in the northeast that encouraged viewers to stay home.

"It’s not surprising," said Bill Carroll, vp director of programming at Katz TV Group. "When you have a once-a-year event, particularly suited to HD, with little to no competition on broadcast or cable, while in this economy it's mostly watched from home, with a blizzard on the East Coast, it would be more surprising if the game did not set a record."

VIDEO: The most talked-about Super Bowl commercials: "Simpsons" shill for Coca-Cola ... Tim Tebow's Focus on the Family ad ... Bud Light's "Lost" parody ... Jay Leno ruins David Letterman's Super Bowl party ... Google's first Super Bowl ad

Google's tear-jerker Super Bowl ad (video)

Google actually posted this ad, "Parisian Love," online back in November. For most of us we're seeing it for the first time during the Super Bowl. Think it goes one beat too far at the end (should have ended on the romantic high note), but see what you think...

Bud Light's 'Lost' parody ad (video)

After all, do you want to leave a tropical beach and get back to work?

Tebow ad makes no mention of abortion (video)

"That's it?" said pundits on Twitter. The controversial Focus on the Family ad didn't directly mention abortion. Pam Tebow merely says her son Tim "almost didn't make it into this world" and urges viewers to "celebrate life." Here's the ad...

Gorgeous 'Simpsons' Coca-Cola ad (video)

Shilling for Coca-Cola, yeah, but man ... this is beautiful ad... title is "Hard Times" ...but didn't "The Simpsons" used to be funny?

Surprise: Leno appears in Letterman's Super Bowl ad

The surprising "Late Show" Super Bowl ad from CBS is a "one-time-only spot" which ran during the second quarter of the big game. It features David Letterman (of course), Oprah Winfrey (huh!) and Jay Leno (!).

CBS says the spot was taped earlier last week at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City (and, yes, they were all on the same couch). 

Guess Letterman's "scene of the crime" jokes about Leno taking back "The Tonight Show" from Conan O'Brien couldn't have stung too badly.

The ad below:

Surprising 'buckle up' PSA (video)

On this mega Super Ad Bowl Sunday, here's a low-budget public service announcement from the UK created by the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership, of all things, that was launched last week and is generating Web buzz. Some viewers calling it the most beautiful PSA they've ever seen ... see what you think ...

'Smallville' hits season high; 'Nightmares' gains

The CW's two-hour "Smallville" movie "Absolute Justice" matched the show's season high Friday night in the adult demo while hitting a fresh peak among total viewers. "Smallville" was seen by 2.6 million viewers and earned a 1.2 preliminary rating among adults 18-49.

Meanwhile, the second week of Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares" grew. The Gordon Ramsay series went from a series low last Friday to a series high after "American Idol" on Tuesday. Now, with a "House" repeat lead-in improving on "Dollhouse" at 8 p.m., "Nightmares" was seen by 4.1 million viewers and landed a 1.8 rating, up 29% and in second place for the hour.

Henry Winkler joining USA's 'Royal Pains'

Hank and Evan's father on "Royal Pains" is not a mystery anymore.

Henry Winkler is joining the breakout USA Network hit in a major recurring role next season, playing Eddie R. Lawson, the absentee father to Hank (Mark Feuerstein) and Evan (Paulo Costanzo) Lawson.

In "Royal Pains' " first-season cliffhanger, Hank learned that their father had taken the majority of the funds of his and Evan's company HankMed. More info here...