More than half of the households in the Atlanta television market watched Denver defeat Carolina in the Super Bowl on Sunday night.

The CBS telecast of Super Bowl 50 drew a 51.1 Nielsen rating here, according to the network, meaning 51.1 percent of the Atlanta market’s homes with TVs watched the game on average.

That topped the national average.

In another measure, CBS said the game drew a 72 “share” in Atlanta, meaning it was watched by an average of 72 percent of the households that had TVs in use at the time.

Nationally, Nielsen calculated that Denver’s 24-10 victory was watched by an audience that averaged 111.9 million viewers, fewer than the past two Super Bowls but still the third most-watched program in U.S. television history.

Last year’s Super Bowl, a down-to-the-wire win by New England over Seattle, averaged a record audience of 114.4 million viewers. The 2014 Super Bowl was watched by 112.2 million.

Sunday’s game posted a 49.0 rating across the 56 metered markets, the second highest overnight rating on record for a Super Bowl, behind only the 49.7 for last year’s game.

The market with the highest rating Sunday was Nashville, Tenn., where the game drew a 57.7 rating, topping even the participating teams’ home markets. The game posted a 55.9 rating in Charlotte, N.C., and 53.9 in Denver.

Atlanta’s rating was the 26th highest among the metered markets, according to CBS.

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Atlanta Dream center Brittney Griner (42) fights for possession during the first half of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game against the Indiana Fever at Gateway Center Arena on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Atlanta. 
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Credit: Jason.Getz@ajc.com