Overnight (metered market) ratings by sport:
Football.
31.7/46: NFL Playoffs on FOX, Giants/Packers (6:15 PM Sunday)
27.4/48: NFL Playoffs on CBS, Chargers/Patriots (3 PM Sunday)
16.3/27: FOX NFL Sunday (6 PM Sunday)
9.4/20: The NFL Today on CBS (2 PM Sunday)
4.6/10: NFL Championship Chase on CBS (1 PM Sunday)
- FOX: The NFC Championship game drew an astonishingly high overnight on Sunday. The 31.7 for the Giants’ overtime victory over the Packers marks a 13% increase over the comparable game last year, the AFC title game between the Patriots and Colts. The game drew over 48 million viewers, making it the most viewed non-Super Bowl television program in at least three years. The final numbers should put the game at over 50 million viewers, which would make Giants/Packers one of only three non-Super Bowl television programs to draw such a large audience in the past fifteen years.
- CBS: The AFC Championship Game was no slouch either. The 27.4 for Chargers/Patriots marks a 4% jump over the early game last year, Saints/Bears, and is the highest overnight for a championship game in the early timeslot since 2005, when Falcons/Eagles drew a 28.6.
Basketball.
1.9: College basketball on ABC, Maryland/North Carolina (3:30 PM Saturday)
1.5/3: College basketball on CBS, regional (3:30 PM Saturday)
- Maryland’s upset victory over UNC was a big deal for ABC; not quite so big as to warrant tears, but big enough to draw a strong rating for January college basketball. The 1.9 overnight for Terps/Tar Heels marks a 58% increase from the 1.2 for Duke/NC State last year.
Hockey.
1.1: NHL on NBC, Bruins/Rangers (12:30 PM Sunday)
- While the 1.1 rating for NBC’s NHL return was even with last year’s opener, NBC had to be hoping the momentum from the Winter Classic would result in better ratings.
