This from Fox Sports which is steaming towards the NFC Championship Game with plenty of momentum. Coming off Wild Card Weekend which saw Fox garner 47.1 million viewers for San Francisco at Green Bay, the network averaged 32.2 million viewers for its two Divisional Playoff games.
For Saturday afternoon’s New Orleans at Seattle contest, Fox saw an 18.1 rating with a 34 share and 31.1 million viewers. The rating was up 7% from last year’s Green Bay-San Francisco game which was played in primetime. And it’s the second highest-rated Saturday NFC Divisional game on Fox dating back to 1999.
Sunday’s NFC Divisional Playoff game between San Francisco and Carolina garnered a 19.9/41 and averaged 33.3 million viewers in the early timeslot. That’s up 3% from last year’s Seattle at Atlanta match that was also played in the early afternoon.
It’s the first time that Fox’s first three playoff games have averaged over 31 million viewers.
Here’s the press release.
2014 NFL PLAYOFF GAMES ON FOX RANK AS MOST-WATCHED NFL POSTSEASON EVER
The 2014 NFL Playoffs on FOX is the network’s most-watched ever after three games, averaging 37.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, eclipsing the network’s previous high of 36.5 million viewers set in 2012. The three-game average household rating, 21.3/39, is +11% versus 2013 (19.2/34) and ranks as the network’s highest-rated NFL postseason since 1997 (21.5/44).
Saturday’s NFC divisional playoff matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks posted an 18.1/34 household rating/share with 31.1 million viewers, as NFL ratings continue to surge. Saturday’s early game rating is up +7% over last year’s NFC divisional game (16.9/27) between the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers played in prime time.
Additional highlights for Saturday’s NFC divisional matchup include:
- Second highest-rated Saturday NFC divisional game on FOX since 1999 (No. 1 is 22.2/42 was set in 1996);
- Third most-watched Saturday divisional game on FOX ever;
- New Orleans led all markets with a 51.1/74 followed by Seattle which registered a 48.4/82;
- Audience peaked at 36.5 million viewers from 7:00-7:30pm ET.
Sunday’s NFC divisional playoff game between the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers posted a 19.9/41 household rating/share with 33.3 million viewers. Yesterday’s game is +3% compared to last year’s 19.3/38 and +11% compared to 32.1 million viewers in 2013 which pit the Seattle Seahawks against the Atlanta Falcons.
Additional highlights from yesterday’s NFC divisional showdown include:
- Third consecutive broadcast in 2014 in which FOX posted year-to-year gains;
- First time that the NFC playoff games on FOX have exceeded 31.0 million viewers for each of its first three games;
- Charlotte led all markets with a 42.1/70 followed by Sacramento 38.5/70, Greensboro 36.8/56 and San Francisco 35.8/74;
- Audience peaked at 38.6 million viewers at 3:30pm ET.
Source: Nielsen Media Research
We’re done with this post.
