Overview
- CBS’s Patriots–Broncos averaged 48.6 million viewers and peaked at 57.8 million, the most-watched playoff game of the season and the capstone to CBS’s most-watched NFL season on record at 23.1 million per game.
- FOX’s Seahawks–Rams averaged about 46.1 million viewers with a 49.7 million peak, up versus last year’s NFC early window but well below the prior year’s late-window record.
- Nielsen’s expanded out-of-home tracking and the new Big Data + Panel metric were in effect this season, boosting totals overall and complicating direct year-over-year comparisons.
- Analysts point to a relative lack of marquee superstar quarterbacks on championship weekend as another factor in softer totals despite competitive games.
- Despite the dip, the NFL says these playoffs averaged 37.0 million viewers, up 5% year over year, as attention now shifts to Super Bowl LX on NBC and Peacock.