NEW YORK >> An estimated 103.4 million people watched the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, the smallest audience for television’s biggest yearly event since 2009.

The Nielsen company says viewership was down from last year’s audience of 111.3 million. The all-time record for Super Bowl viewing was 114.4 million for the Seattle-New England game in 2015.

The NFL’s viewership has been down this season, and so has television watching in general. The decline came despite a thrilling game that was competitive from beginning to end.

Meanwhile, the post-game episode of “This is Us” was seen by 27 million people, the most-watched entertainment program after the Super Bowl in six years.