The Peyton Manning-Tom Brady showdown in the AFC Championship Game may have been centered around a tired narrative, but the game itself was a smash hit for CBS. The Patriots-Broncos matchup drew a massive 31.8 overnight rating, the highest for any Conference Championship since 1987.
The 31.8/53 for @patriots @broncos is highest early window game rating for both AFC and NFC Championship since 1987
— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) January 25, 2016
A 31.8 overnight is a massive number, up 31% from Colts-Patriots in the late window last year and 9% from Packers-Seahawks in the early window.
The NFC Championship Game last year ended up with a 27.4 rating and 49.84 million viewers last year, so the AFC Championship this year should sail well clear of 50 million viewers, making it the most-watched TV program in the country since last year’s Super Bowl between the Patriots and Seahawks.
And then there’s the NFC Championship Game, which reportedly drew a 26.8 overnight.
Patriots-Broncos pulled on overnight of 31.8 on CBS. The Cardinals-Panthers drew a 26.8 overnight on Fox.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) January 25, 2016
That overnight is down 8% from Packers-Seahawks in the early window, and up 11% from Patriots-Colts in the late window. Not ideal, especially compared to the monstrous number drawn by Manning vs Brady Part 83, but still a solid result overall.
Interestingly, this marks the second straight year in which the game in the early window has outdrawn the game in the late window. This is probably more of a blip than a trend, but it’s still interesting to see.
UPDATE: The final viewership numbers are in, and predictably, they’re massive. 53.3 million people watched the AFC Championship Game, and 45.7 million people watched the NFC Championship Game.
.@NFL Conference Championship Games post dominant viewership numbers: https://t.co/BqgH3CPeNr pic.twitter.com/Pitydc4zhN
— NFL345 (@NFL345) January 25, 2016
That makes Patriots-Broncos the second most-watched AFC title game ever, up 7% from Packers-Seahawks in the early slot last year and up 26% from Colts-Patriots. Cardinals-Panthers was down 8% from the NFC title game in the early slot last year, but up 8% from Colts-Patriots in the late slot, so that has to be considered a win for the league, considering the blowout that game turned into.
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