Fox Scores With the 2014 NFC Championship

Fox saw some very good ratings and viewership for the NFC Championship between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. The game which ended in a 23-17 win for the Seahawks resulted with a 28.5 rating for Fox. It had a 44 share. That’s 18% better than last year’s NFC Championship.

Overall, it had just under 56 million viewers. The viewership was 33% higher than the 2013 NFC Championship game.

Locally, Seattle led all markets across the country with an amazing 54.3/85 which means 85% of the TV sets in the market was tuned to the NFC Championship. San Francisco was next with a 47.5/78. Sacramento, Portland and Milwaukee (Milwaukee?) round out the top five.

We have the Fox announcement.

NFL NFC Championship55.9 MILLION VIEWERS TUNE INTO NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME ON FOX

New York, NY – In a back and forth NFC Championship game that lived up to the hype, the Seattle Seahawks punched their ticket to Super Bowl XLVIII with a victory over the NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers, and delivered huge audience numbers for FOX Sports. Yesterday’s 23-17 Seahawks win scored a 28.5/44 national household rating/share according to Nielsen Media Research, with 55.9 million viewers tuning in, +18% in rating over last year’s match-up between San Francisco and Atlanta (24.2/45), while average audience is +33% (42.0 million). Additional highlights follow:

  • Sunday’s game ranks as the FOX’s highest-rated non-overtime NFC Championship Game since 1997 (30.1/58, Carolina-Green Bay), and is the most-watched non-overtime NFC Championship Game since 1995 (Dallas – San Francisco, 56.8 million viewers).
  • Punctuated by last night’s game, all four NFL on FOX playoff games this season posted year-to-year increases in rating and viewership.
  • Sunday’s game opened with 47.4 million viewers tuning in and gradually swelled to 60.3 million as Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman tipped a potential touchdown pass intended for 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree into what amounted to a game-ending interception.
  • The complete 2014 NFL Playoffs on FOX averaged a 23.1/40, with 42.0 million viewers, +13% in rating and +18% in audience over last year (20.5/36, 35.7 million).
  • Seattle led all markets with a huge 54.3/85, followed by San Francisco (47.5/78); Sacramento (46.7/72); Portland (39.5/63); and Milwaukee (38.9/57) to round out the top five.

There you have it.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013. He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television. Fang celebrates the three Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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