A Divisional Round thriller between the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos set a new high watermark for Saturday NFL viewership, while a blowout in the San Francisco 49ers-Seattle Seahawks game kept that audience predictably modest.
The Broncos’ overtime win over the Bills during the 4:30 p.m. ET window on Saturday afternoon averaged 39.6 million viewers on CBS, up 17% versus last year’s comparable game (Texans-Chiefs on ESPN/ABC, 33.8 million viewers).
Per CBS, it’s the most-watched Saturday NFL playoff game of all time, regardless of network or timeslot. The previous high for a Saturday playoff game was 37.5 million for Packers-49ers in 2024, which earned 37.5 million viewers in primetime on Fox. Broncos-Bills beat the previous Saturday afternoon record, Saints-49ers in 2012, by approximately four million viewers. Saturday’s game peaked at 51.3 million viewers during the overtime period. All told, the game was the most-watched Saturday telecast on any network dating back to the 1994 Winter Olympics.
“NFL ON CBS” Makes History with the Most-Watched Saturday NFL Playoff Game Ever
🏈Nearly 40 million viewers, surpassing all previous Saturday games, including primetime
🏈Peaked with more than 51 million viewers
🏈Most-watched Saturday telecast on any network since 1994 Winter… pic.twitter.com/S8fBjjdbEA— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) January 21, 2026
Fox wasn’t so fortunate with its Saturday primetime window featuring a banged-up 49ers team and a dominant Seahawks squad. The game became out of hand quickly, and Seattle rolled to a 41-6 thrashing. As one would expect, much of the audience tuned out once the outcome became apparent.
According to Fox, the game averaged 32 million viewers in the 8 p.m. ET Saturday window. Given the nature of the game, that number should be viewed as a success. Last year’s Commanders-Lions game in the comparable window, a much more competitive contest, averaged 33.6 million viewers, meaning Fox only endured a 5% year-over-year decline despite the blowout.
On Saturday, 32 million viewers watched @NFLonFOX‘s Divisional presentation — highlighted by the @Seahawks dominant 41-6 triumph over the 49ers.
NFC CHAMPIONSHIP: Coverage of the NFC Championship, featuring a showdown between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks, begins… pic.twitter.com/9svXQpmtjh
— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) January 21, 2026
Of course, all of these numbers come with the caveat of Nielsen’s new methodology for measuring television viewership. Last year’s Divisional Round figures do not include Nielsen’s expanded out-of-home viewing measurements or the updated Big Data + Panel methodology, both of which generally serve to increase audiences for live sports compared to prior years. All things being equal, it’s difficult to know how either game compares historically.
Viewership for Sunday’s Divisional Round games will be available on Thursday.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.