Football fans who waded through the dreck of a half-dozen blowout playoff games to open the second season, got soundly rewarded with an all-timer Sunday evening. No one is going to be bouncing their grandkids on their knee talking about the time Brock Osweiler beat Connor Cook in a wild card game, but many will be talking about the Packers win over the Cowboys in Arlington a long time from now.
The final numbers show the game was a ratings blockbuster for Fox. Packers/Cowboys drew an astonishing 48.5 million average viewers, making it the most-viewed TV program since Super Bowl 50. It topped Game 7 of the World Series by about eight million viewers. In fact, it bested every World Series game of the last quarter century with the exception of one (Game 7 of the 1991 World Series). Viewership peaked at 62.4 million, according to Fox Sports.
The game drew a 28.2 overnight rating, making it the highest-rated divisional round game in 20 years, according to Sports Business Journal.
The primetime Steelers/Chiefs game posted more modest numbers, but still set a record for highest-rated divisional game in primetime, with a 19.8/32 rating/share, topping the previous record of 19.1/31 (Saints/Eagles 2014). With a viewing average of 37.1 million, it bested the prior record by close to five million and peaked at 39.1 million in the 9-9:30 half-hour.
Steelers/Chiefs was moved from Sunday afternoon to evening because of weather concerns in the Kansas City area, but the move to primetime and its subsequent ratings boost reportedly has the league considering more Sunday night playoff games.
Looking ahead to this weekend, the AFC Championship game between two traditional stalwarts, the Patriots and Steelers, should post high ratings marks. Whether or not it will compete with last year’s Patriots/Broncos matchup is another matter. That game drew more than 53 million viewers, making it the second most-watched AFC Championship ever.
It’s more likely the NFC Championship will post better ratings than last year, at least if the game is close. Last year’s Panthers blowout of the Cardinals averaged 45.7 million viewers, a decrease of more than four million from the year prior. While no franchise carries ratings like the Cowboys, the Packers boast a large following. The last time Green Bay was in the conference championship, in their 2014 classic against Seattle, 49.8 million tuned in.
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