The Divisional round of the NFL playoffs is in the books, and three of four windows were up from last year.
Starting off the weekend, Jaguars-Chiefs averaged 34.3 million on NBC and its platforms via the network’s Total Audience Delivery metric, which is up from last year’s early Saturday game (Bengals-Titans, 30.75 million on CBS). It’s also the most-watched Saturday afternoon Divisional game since 2013. NBC also noted that an average minute audience of 2.02 million watched the game across Peacock and other digital platforms, a non-Super Bowl record for an NBC NFL game.
UPDATED viewership figures are in…@Jaguars vs. @Chiefs is Most-Watched Sat. Afternoon NFL Divisional in a Decade.
More: https://t.co/DMSWsS8XBS pic.twitter.com/X2v5htATWe
— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) January 24, 2023
Saturday night on Fox, the Eagles’ blowout win over the Giants averaged 28.6 million viewers. That’s down big from last year’s game (49ers-Packers, 36.92 million on Fox), and was the least-watched game of the weekend by a significant margin.
.@NFLONFOX won the weekend as its Divisional round coverage of the #NFLPlayoffs saw viewership soar across TV and digital. 👀 pic.twitter.com/V9mrsmYtRz
— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) January 24, 2023
On CBS, the Bengals’ win over the Bills averaged 39.323 million viewers in the early window. That’s up from the early Sunday game last year (Rams-Bucs, 38.14 million on NBC). It’s also the most-watched AFC Divisional game in the early window on record.
🚨 Update: Final Nielsen viewership for Bengals-Bills is 39.323 million viewers.
Most-watched AFC Divisional Playoff Game on record in the early window.
Peaked with MORE than 45 million viewers (45.126). https://t.co/GMFuB15Bxq— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) January 24, 2023
Finally, Fox delivered a huge number in the final window of the weekend on Sunday, averaging 45.7 million viewers for 49ers-Cowboys. That’s up from last year (Bills-Chiefs, 42.74 million on CBS), and also ranks as the second-most watched Divisional game on record.
Sunday's Divisional clash between the @DallasCowboys and @49ers delivered 45.7 million viewers on FOX 🤯
This ranks as the most-watched matchup of the weekend and the second most-watched NFL Divisional playoff game on record.#NFLPlayoffs | #DALvsSF | #FTTB pic.twitter.com/SX2kpbZ7yi
— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) January 24, 2023
A friendly reminder that out of home viewing was not included in viewership for games prior to the 2020 season, adding a caveat to some of these historical comparisons.
This Sunday, we’ve got the two conference championship games – 49ers vs Eagles in the early window on Fox, and Bengals vs Chiefs in the late window on CBS.
[Data via ShowBuzz Daily, Sports Media Watch]
