LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Sunday’s Super Bowl TV audience set a viewing record for the annual National Football League Championship and eclipsed the 1983 benchmark set by the comedy “M*A*S*H” to become the most watched U.S. telecast, according to early ratings data on Monday.

A record 106.5 million American TV viewers watched the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts in Sunday’s game, broadcast on CBS, Nielsen media and CBS said.

The figures topped the record held since 1983 by the finale of “M*A*S*H,” which drew 106 million viewers.

The previous record for a Super Bowl was the 98.7 million Americans who tuned in to see the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals in 2009.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Sunday’s Super Bowl TV audience set a viewing record for the annual National Football League Championship and eclipsed the 1983 benchmark set by the comedy “M*A*S*H” to become the most watched U.S. telecast, according to early ratings data on Monday.

A record 106.5 million American TV viewers watched the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts in Sunday’s game, broadcast on CBS, Nielsen media and CBS said.

The figures topped the record held since 1983 by the finale of “M*A*S*H,” which drew 106 million viewers.

The previous record for a Super Bowl was the 98.7 million Americans who tuned in to see the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals in 2009.

LOS ANGELES, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Sunday’s Super Bowl TV audience set a viewing record for the annual National Football League Championship and eclipsed the 1983 benchmark set by the comedy “M*A*S*H” to become the most watched U.S. telecast, according to early ratings data on Monday.

A record 106.5 million American TV viewers watched the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts in Sunday’s game, broadcast on CBS, Nielsen media and CBS said.

The figures topped the record held since 1983 by the finale of “M*A*S*H,” which drew 106 million viewers.

The previous record for a Super Bowl was the 98.7 million Americans who tuned in to see the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals in 2009.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Ellen DeGeneres makes her much-anticipated debut on “American Idol” on Tuesday, shaking up the dynamics on the show’s judging panel and auditioning her own talents for the biggest TV audience in the United States.

The arrival of the popular talk show host and comic is expected to boost viewership on the Fox television network’s aging singing contest, now in its 9th season and facing challenges to its coveted spot as the No. 1 show on U.S. TV.

The biggest question is, can Ellen get viewers to stay?

DeGeneres, 52, takes the seat held by Paula Abdul, who quit last summer in a contract renewal dispute, and “Idol” fans and TV critics remain passionately divided over her replacement.

LOS ANGELES, Feb 7 (Reuters) – Ellen DeGeneres makes her much-anticipated debut on “American Idol” on Tuesday, shaking up the dynamics on the show’s judging panel and auditioning her own talents for the biggest TV audience in the United States.

The arrival of the popular talk show host and comic is expected to boost viewership on the Fox television network’s aging singing contest, now in its 9th season and facing challenges to its coveted spot as the No. 1 show on U.S. TV.

The biggest question is, can Ellen get viewers to stay?

DeGeneres, 52, takes the seat held by Paula Abdul, who quit last summer in a contract renewal dispute, and “Idol” fans and TV critics remain passionately divided over her replacement.

Taylor Swift’s record label has come out in defense of the young pop/country star after her  less-than-stellar performance at the Grammy awards on Sunday had music critics shooting poisoned arrows at her vocal talents.

Swift, 20, took four Grammys on Sunday, including the coveted album of the year for the smash hit “Fearless”, which was also the biggest selling album of 2009. But her haul was somewhat overshadowed by her live Grammy duet with veteran rock singer Stevie Nicks, which The Washington Post called “incredibly wretched” and Ann Powers of The Los Angeles Times described as “tinny and rhythmically flat footed.”

Over to Scott Borchetta, president and CEO of Swift’s record label Big Machine Records in Nashville. “Maybe she’s not the best technical singer, but she is the best emotional singer,” Borchetta told The Tennessean.com. “No one is perfect on any given day. Maybe in that moment, we didn’t have the best night, but in the same breath, maybe we did.”

It’s not the first time that Swift’s vocal prowess has come under fire during the singer-songwriter’s rapid rise to the top and a marketing campaign that has put her just about everywhere in the last six months.  In the past, Swift’s managers have blamed some shaky moments on nerves and the technical constraints of  live performances, while pointing to a string of  sell-out concerts and her undoubted ability to connect with the angst of  young teens going through their first loves.

LOS ANGELES, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Larry O’Donnell may be president of a Fortune 200 company. But the Waste Management chief operating officer got fired on his first day in a humble job picking up trash when working for his own organization.

A rare television series set in the real-life workplace, “Undercover Boss” hits U.S. airwaves this Sunday, Feb. 7, putting executives to work in everyday jobs in an era when many companies are cutting budgets and employees are working harder for the same pay, or less.

“Anybody who has had a boss, or who has worked in a company, will understand this show,” said executive producer Stephen Lambert. “And for the person in charge, to be able to see what their employees are really doing seemed like an exciting idea.”

The first show in the CBS documentary-reality series features O’Donnell and Waste Management Inc <WM.N>, the leading provider of garbage collection and recycling services in North America with some 45,000 employees.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – One of the first things Gabourey Sidibe did on Tuesday morning was to send a congratulatory text message to Carey Mulligan.

Both young women were among 12 actors experiencing the thrill of their first Oscar nominations on a coveted list that sees newcomers to the Academy Awards make up more than half of the chosen few.

Sidibe, 26, and Mulligan, 24, along with “Up in the Air” best supporting actress contender Anna Kendrick, 24, are also the youngest of the bunch.

And although their backgrounds and movie roles could hardly be more different, Sidibe and Mulligan have become firm friends in a hectic couple of months of red carpets, glitzy dinners and meeting Hollywood stars that were a distant dream a year ago.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – After 20 years, Sandra Bullock is finally thinking of herself as a good actress. And Hollywood seems to agree.

Bullock, best known for romantic comedies like “Miss Congeniality” and “Two Weeks Notice,” initially balked at portraying a real person in the drama “The Blind Side” but the role brought Bullock her first Oscar nomination on Tuesday.

Long a popular favorite, Bullock’s change of gear in “The Blind Side” has brought her a slew of honors, including a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award.

Now the 45-year-old actress stands on the brink of winning the movie industry’s highest honor for her performance as a wealthy, strong-willed Christian mom who takes a homeless black high school football player into her family.

LOS ANGELES, Feb 2 (Reuters) – After 20 years, Sandra Bullock is finally thinking of herself as a good actress. And Hollywood seems to agree.

Bullock, best known for romantic comedies like “Miss Congeniality” and “Two Weeks Notice,” initially balked at portraying a real person in the drama “The Blind Side” but the role brought Bullock her first Oscar nomination on Tuesday.

Long a popular favorite, Bullock’s change of gear in “The Blind Side” has brought her a slew of honors, including a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award.

Now the 45-year-old actress stands on the brink of winning the movie industry’s highest honor for her performance as a wealthy, strong-willed Christian mom who takes a homeless black high school football player into her family.