Political pressure from the Northeast to make the game more widely viewable preceded the decision to simulcast the game on CBS and NBC . Arlen Specter , the Pennsylvania senator who was the Republican ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee , and Patrick Leahy of Vermont , the Committee 's head , wrote the league a letter threatening to reconsider the antitrust exemption currently enjoyed by the NFL under United States law . Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts had pressured the league and cable companies to settle their dispute so “ no die-hard Pats fans will be shut out from watching their team take aim at football history . " In the end , 15.7 million viewers watched the game on CBS , 13.2 million on NBC , 4.5 million on the NFL Network , and 1.2 million on New York , Boston and Manchester , New Hampshire television stations . The game was the most watched program on television since the 2007 Academy Awards and the most watched regular season NFL game in more than 12 years
2007 Academy Awards
79th Academy Awards
2007 New England Patriots season