Approximately 3 million households saw Notre Dame blow out the University of Hawai'i, 49-21, in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl on Christmas Eve, record viewership for the seven-year-old game.

The bowl's owner, ESPN Regional Television, operates six bowl games and the Hawai'i Bowl viewership was the highest in the history of those bowls, according to David A. K. Matlin, executive director of the Hawai'i Bowl.

The game, thanks to the first appearance by storied Notre Dame, did a 3.03 rating live and, combined with the replay, a 3.70, equating to 2,974,000 households for the live showing and 3,636,000 households for the replay.

"It was a super rating and to say we are really pleased is an understatement," Matlin said.

The amount of so-called "net reach" viewers — the number of viewers who watched the game whether for a minute or in its entirety — is expected to be nearly 13 million, when those figures are released.

The previous highs for the Hawai'i Bowl were set in UH's 41-24 victory over Arizona State in 2006 when 2.3 million households tuned in.

"We are thrilled with the record-breaking viewership of the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl," Matlin said. "One of the goals of our executive committee is to showcase Hawai'i as a world-class destination."

Attendance for the game, 43,487, was the highest in the bowl's history. There were 45,718 tickets distributed for the game.

Matlin said, "A special thanks to the University of Hawai'i Warriors and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for providing a compelling matchup that led to millions of potential Hawai'i visitors watching the game during prime time. It did not hurt that most of the country was experiencing sub-freezing temperatures, too.

"In addition, a big mahalo needs to go out to the local community for supporting the game and providing us with record breaking attendance that made for great television for both our domestic and international audience."